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LANDSCAPE * 
* GARDENING 



NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS ON LAWNS AND LAWN 
PLANTING- LAYING OUT AND ARRANGEMENT OF 
COUNTRY PLACES, LARGE AND SMALL PARKS, CEM- 
ETERY PLOTS, AND RAILWAY-STATION LAWNS-DE- 
CIDUOUS AND EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS-THE 
HARDY BORDER-BEDDING PLANTS-ROCKWORK, ETC. 

SAMUEL PARSONS, Jr. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF PARKS, NEW YORK CITY 

ILLUSTRATED 








" I should prefer the delights of a garden to the 
dominion of a world." — John Adams 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

NEW YORK LONDON 

27 WEST TWENTY-THIND STREET 27 KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND 

"Cbc IRnfckcibochcv iprcss 



1 89 1 _r|S? 



. i 






c^<>^ 



Copyright, i8gi 

BY 

SAMUEL PARSONS, Jr. 



a 






1 



Ubc IRnicfecrbocftcr ipress, IRcw Kotlt 

Electrotyped, Printed, and Bound by 
G. P. Putnam's Sons 



Introduction 



The Lawn . 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



PACK 

xi 



CHAPTER II. 

The Treatment of Sloping Grounds 

CHAPTER III. 
Spring Effects on the Lawn 

CHAPTER IV. 
Trees and Shrubs for June Effects on the Lawn 

CHAPTER V. 

The Flowers and Foliage of Summer 

CHAPTER VI. 

Green Autumnal Foliage ..... 



IS 



32 



53 



88 



106 



CHAPTER VII. 
Autumnal Color on the Lawn 

CHAPTER VIIL 
Lawn-Planting for Winter Effect 



• 114 



135 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Garden Flowers 



CHAPTER X. 



Grandmother's Garden 



PAGE 



CHAPTER XI. 



Bedding Plants 



216 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Ornamentation of Ponds and Lakes 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Lawn-Planting for Small Places . 



CHAPTER XIV. 



City Parks . 



CHAPTER XV. 
Railway, Churchyard, and Cemetery Lawn-Planting 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Nookeries on the Home Grounds ..... 

CHAPTER XVII. 
My Friend the Andromeda 



238 



255 



271 



295 



307 



312 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Pond Effect — Lotuses and Water-Lilies 

Lawn in Central Park, New York, near the North End of the M 

Rough Ungraded Bank 

Closely Massed Rocks on Finished Steep Bank 
Partly Finished Rocky Bank Ready for Planting . 
Entrance to Cave in the Ramble, Central Park, New York . 
Steps Leading to Cave in the Ramble, Central Park, New York 
Stone Bridge Adjoining Large Natural Rock, Central Park, New 

Yucca Recurva 

Yellow Jasmine (yastniuiini inidiflormii) 

Weeping Golden Bell {Forsythia suspoisa) 

Flowering Dogwood {Cornus Florida) . 

Double-Flowering Apple {Pyms spccta/>ilis) . 

The Double-Flowering Cherry {Prunus a-rasus, fl. pi.) 

Soulange's Magnolia {Magnolia Soitlangcana) 

* Japan Weeping Cherry .... 

Japanese Magnolia {Magnolia stellata) . 

English Hawthorn [Crata-giis oxyacantha) 

English Hawthorn {Cralugus oxyacantha) 

Deutzia Gracilis 

Azalea Mollis 

Tree Peony {Pivonia arborea) .... 
Common Purple Lilac {Syringa vulgaris) 

Japanese Maple 

Horse-Chestnut Trees, Central Park, New York . 
Red-Flowering Horse-Chestnut (^^jc^/z/j- rubiciinda) . 
White-Flowering Horse-Chestnut {^snilns rubicunda) 

Chionanthus Virginica 

Rhododendron 

PinxTER Flower {Azalea nitdifora) .... 

Broad-Leaved Laurel {Kalmia latifolia) 
Gordon's Mock Orange {Philadelphits Gordonianiis) 

* From a photograph taken by Mr. Paul Dana from a specimen on the lawn of M 
Dana, Dosoris, L. I. 



Fronti 
ALL 



York 



PAGE 

piece 

17 

18 

19 
21 

23 
25 
27 
29 

35 
39 
40 

41 
42 

43 

45 
46 

47 
48 

49 
49 
50 
51 
58 
61 
62 

63 
64 



69 
69 

72 

r. Charles A. 



VI 



ILL USTRA TIONS. 



'era) 



DeUTZIA CRENATA,y/. //. 

EXOCHORDA GRANDIFLORA ..... 

SwEET-ScENTED Shrub {Calycaiithus Floridus) . 
Yellow Japanese Kerria {Kerria Japonicd) . 
Red-Flowering Weigelia ( IVeigelia rosea) 

Viburnum Opulus 

Four Good Clematises 

Wistaria Sinensis 

Wistaria Arbor, Central Park, New York 

Japan Ramanas Rose {Rosa rugosa rubra) 

Noble Silver Fir {Abies 7iobilis) .... 

American Beeches (/v7^z<j-y>;'rw_o-/«d'a) 

Double-Flowering Althea {Hibiscus Syriacus, Jl. pi.) 

Sweet Pepper Bush {Cleihra alnifolia) 

Dwarf Flowering Horse-Chestnut Trees {/Esculus parvifi 

Chinese Cypress {Glypiostrobus sinensis) . 

Japan Ivy {Atnpelopsis iricuspidata . 

Dutchman's Pipe {Aristolochia sipho) 

Sweet-Scented Clematis (Cle?natis Jlammula^ 

Trumpet Creeper ( Tecof?ia radicafts) 

Indian Bean {Catalpa bignonioides) . 

Weeping Beech {Fagus sylvatica pendula) 

Weeping Beech in Winter .... 

El.^agnus Longipes ..... 

* Kentucky Coffee-Tree .... 

* Liquid ambar ..... 
European Oleaster {Elaagnus hortensis) 

* Oriental Spruce {Picea Orientalis) 
Weeping Norway Spruce and Dwarf Pine {Picea excelsa inverta 

sirobus cotnpactd) ..... 
Cedar of Lebanon {Cedrus Libani) . 
Bhotan Pine {Pinus excelsa) 

* Mugho Pine {Pinus inughus) .... 
Ginkgo Tree, Irish Yews, and Weeping Sophora 

* Japan Parasol Pine {Sciadopitys veriicillata) 

* Obtuse-Leaved Japanese Cypress {Retinospora obiusa) 
Parsons' Silver Fir, Weeping Norway Spruce, and Weeping Larch 
Heart-Leaved Saxifrage (&x?/ra^'-« cordi folia) 
Moss Pink {Phlox subulata) .... 
European Pasque-Flower {Anemone Pulsatilla) 
Stemless Gentian {Gentiana acaulis) 
Alpine Barrenwort {Epimediu»i Alpinuin) 

ASTILBE JAPONICA 

Noble Fumitory {Corydalis nobilis) 
Bleeding Heart {DicenU-a spectabilis) 



and 



Pini 



* From a photograph taken by Mr. Paul Dana from a specimen on the lawn of Mr. Charles A. 
Dana, Dosoris, L. I. 



ILL USTRA TIONS. vii 



PAGE 

Spring Meadow Saffron {^Bnlbocodium vernuni) ...... 165 

Poet's Narcissus {Narcissus poeticus) ........ 166 

Trumpet Major {Narcissus major) 166 

Daffodil {Narcissus pseudo-narcissus) . . . . . . . .167 

Fragrant Jonquil {Narcissus odorus) 167 

Crocus Vernus 168 

Winter Aconites {Eranthis hyemalis) 168 

Snowdrop {Galanthiis nivalis) ......... 169 

Scarlet Turban Lily {Liliuni poinponium) ....... 169 

Crucianella Stylosa 170 

Lily of the Valley 171 

Maiden's Pink {Dianihus deltoides), and the Nierembergia Rivularis . .172 

Herbaceous Peony {PcEonia officinalis) 173 

Slender-Leaved Peony (/"^(jwm i'd'«Miyt'//a,y?.//.) 174 

Sea Lavender {Siatice lati folia) 174 

'^OQVi T\3t^\CK {Tunica saxifraga) 175 

Achillea Ptarmica 176 

Yellow Asphodel (^j^/^i^r/c'/z^j- /«/d'«.f) 176 

Yellow Chamomile (/i«///t'W2j //wc/c^rw) 177 

American Senna {Cassia Marylandicd) 179 

Gk^V-lpm-V {Dictammis fraxinella) 180 

Gaillardia Grandiflora 181 

Geranium Sanguineum 182 

Bowman's Root {Gillenia irifoliata) 182 

Plantain Lily {Funkia ovata) 183 

German Iris {Iris Germanica) 184 

LiLiUM Auratum 184 

LiLiUM Speciosum 185 

Turk's-Cap Lily {Lilium supcrhum) 185 

Button Snakeroot {Liatris spicata) 186 

Double Scarlet Lychnis (Z>r/-!;/i> C/zfz/tvr/i'w/ra.y?.//.) ..... 186 
Purple Loosestrife {Lythmm salicaria) . . . . . . .187 

Purple Flowering Raspberry {Riibus odoratus) 188 

Pentstemon Barbatus (var. Torreyi) 189 

'LAViG^'BELLFl.O\y'E.K{Plaiycodon gra7idiJloru!n) . . . . . .189 

Meadow Sweet {Spircca uhnaria) ......... 190 

GENTlAN-hKAVEB SvEEDWELL {Veronica gcnlianoides) ..... 190 

Red-Hot VoKER {Triloma uvaria) ......... 192 

Cardinal Flower {Lobelia cardinalis) ........ 193 

Leadwort {Plumbago Larpejitce) 194 

Stone Crop {Sedum acre) .......... 195 

Sedum Spectabile 195 

Compass Plant {Silphium laciniatum) ........ 196 

Golden-Rod {SoUdago Canadensis) 197 

New York Iron-Weed ( /Vrw^w/rt A''<?z'^i5<7;-fffc«m) ...... 197 

Christmas Rose {Helleborus ttiger) 198 

Cobweb House-Leek {Sempervivum arachnoideum) ..... 198 



vm 



TLL USTRA TIONS. 



Autumn Crocus {Colchiciim aiilia/inal,') 

Single Dahlias .... 

Garden Pink {Diau/Iuis plniiiarius) . 

SwEET-WlLLiAM {Diaiithus barbaius) 

Fall Larkspur {Delphinium elaium) 

Single Hollyhocks 

Coreopsis Lanceolata . 

Private Place at Orange, N. J., as Laid out by Vaux & Co. 

Canada Columbine {Aquilegia Canadensis) 

Erianthus Ravenn.-e 

Festuca Glauca .... 

Stipa Pennata .... 

Harebell {Campamtla tcnori) . 

Liver Leaf {Hepatica triloba) . 

Japan Wlnd-P'lower {Anemone Japoniea — Houorine Jotibert) 

Blue Violet 

Whitp: Violet .... 

Purple Foxglove {Digitalis purpurea) 

Oriental Poppy {Papaver bracteatum) 

Japan Iris {Iris Kccmpferi) 

Diagram of Decorative Bed 

Bed of Cannas, Coleuses, and Acalyphas 

Study for Bedding of Foliage Plants against a Wall 

Sword Lily {Gladiolus) . 

DLA.GRAM OF BeDDING PLANTS . 

Plan for Elliptical Beds for Massing Colors 
Double Geranium .... 
Single Geranium . , . . 
Salvia Splendens .... 

Canna Indica 

Banana Plant {Musa ensete) 

Solanum Warscewiczioides . 

Elephant Ear {Caladium esculentum) 

New Single Tulips 

Green-Leaved Bamboo {Arundo donax) 

Pampas Grass {Gynerium argenteum) 

EulaliA {yaponica zebrina) 

Border of the Fountain, Union Square, New York, — Lotuses and 

Water-Lilies .... 
Arrangement of Lotuses and Lilv-Pads 
Group of Japanese Lotuses {Nelumbiuin speeiosum) 
Arrangement of Water-Lilies and Papyrus 
Centre of the Fountain, Union Square, New York 
Bethesda Fountain Basin, Central Park, New York 
Small Home Lawn .... 
Suggestions for Lawn-Planting . 
A Study for Lawn-Planting . 



IL L US TRA TIONS. 



IX 



The Mall, Central Park, New York .... 

* The Island, near Bridge, Central Park, New York 
The Cave Landing on the Lake, Central Park, New York 
North Meadow, Central P.ark, New York 

OVERHANGIN(; RoCK NEAR IIOTH StREET AND SEVENTH AVENUE 

Park, New York . 
A Gorge in Central Park 
A Church Lawn 
A Burial Plot 



* From a photograph taken by Mr 



E.P 



Central 



PAGE 

279 
281 
283 

285 
287 
299 
305 



Fowler. 



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INTRODUCTION. 




N presenting to tlie reader the fol- 
lowing brief and unpretending chap- 
ters, I am fully aware that the 
subject of landscape gardening is 
receiving at my hands unsystematic 
and insufficient treatment. At the 
very outset, therefore, I wish to say 
that the principal feeling that has 
inspired the present undertaking has been a desire to 
arouse, by simple desultory talks, increased enthusiasm for 
lawn-making among men of moderate means. 

Most people have some land, or can in this country 
readily get it. As a rule, however, they accomplish little 
towards the proper development of the landscape-garden- 
ing capabilities of such land as they have. The hired man 
generally advises them to a considerable degree, and then 
carries out the plans agreed upon, without much let or 
hindrance from the employer, or comprehension of the com- 
parative value of the completed work. 



xii INTRODUCTION. 

There is no doubt tliat nurseiymeu's catalogues furnisli 
much valuable advice conceruing the best methods of 
growing certain plants, as well as extensive lists of their 
various species and varieties ; but this cannot be considered 
an adequate or even an attractive way of treating the sub- 
ject of landscape gardening. The discussions of plants are 
sufficiently alluring, I will acknowledge, and the colored 
pictures and woodcuts are unquestionably eifective in 
arresting the eye and securing interest of a certain kind. 
In a word, nurserymen's catalogues are intended for one 
definite purpose — namely, that of tempting the reader to 
purchase plants, and to that end they are admirably 
adapted. To the development of a sound taste for the 
practice of genuine landscape gardening these catalogues 
can of course contribute comparatively little. And yet the 
material, the trees and shrubs, they discuss, must always 
form an important and very essential part of any satisfac- 
tory treatise on landscape gardening. 

On the other hand, to write such works as those of 
Price, Gilpin, Repton, and Downing, while requiring ability 
and experience of a high order, does not satisfy what seems 
to me a particular need of the present time. Wealth and 
taste are being rapidly diffused among all classes. The 
book, therefore, that is needed for this purpose is, it seems 
to me, one that will stimulate interest in an inexpensive 
style of landscape gardening l)y enunciating a few prac- 
tical fundamental principles, and giving an account of some 
examples of well laid out grounds. With this, should 
naturally be included a description of some of the best 
lawn -pi ants. 



INTRODUCTION. xiii 

My chief confidence in tlie value of such a work lies, 
I confess, chiefly in the superior effect the illustrations may 
have in inspiring interest in the subject, and leading the 
reader to pursue his investigations farther a-field. I have 
also myself lived among choice ornamental trees all my 
life, and had the opportunity of studying many examples of 
landscape gardening in numerou;j more or less professional 
visits to country-places in America, My position of Su- 
perintendent of Parks in New York for nearly ten years, 
moreover, gives some additional I'easons for undertaking to 
make a few suggestions and notes by the way that may be 
helpful to others. 

The first chaptei* that I propose to undertake in the 
series of what should l)e tei'med talks, I'ather than serious 
discussions, will l)e on the subject of the actual lawn con- 
sidered by itself. Having duly considered the best 
methods of making a lawn, and arrived at the final convic- 
tion that lawn-making requires considei'able practical 
knowledge and skill, we will be likely to meet the ques- 
tion, " But how do you make your roads ? " To this I shall 
be obliged to reply: "That, although I have arrived at 
certain conclusions about road-making, I do not deem the 
subject as clearly \vithin the proper scope of landscape 
gardening." 

Roadmaking is distinctly within the province of the 
engineer, and all over the civilized world the subject has 
been exhaustively treated by learned experts, who have set 
forth their views in prize essays and more extended 
treatises. But I must say this much, earnestly and from 
an experience that has l)een checkered by good and bad 



xiv INTRODUCTION. 

results, that you had better give your roads only enough 
curve or crown to shed water properly. It will be also 
found in many places, even within the home grounds, that 
gutters by the side of the road are essential ; and invari- 
ably well-assorted broken stones should undei'lie tlie drive- 
way for the purpose of drainage. With the additional oft- 
quoted remark on the maintenance of roads, that "a stitch 
in time saves nine," I shall forego all further talk in these 
pages about the construction of paths and roads. 

The question of the curves or course of paths and 
roads, in relation to adjacent lands and buildings, is, how- 
ever, a legitimate query for the reader to make, and of that 
I shall have something definite to say. Roads and paths 
are, it must be confessed, necessary evils that add no land- 
scape beauty to the place, and must be simply tolerated 
because they are needed to get about the grounds. In de- 
vising the location and course of roads and paths, it 
becomes, therefore, our duty to seek to minimize their 
essential ugliness, and to contrive how to manage with as 
few of them as possible. 

Constructing lawns and laying out lines of paths and 
roads having been discussed, the plan of my chapters next 
induces me to ask the reader to imagine a rough, undulating 
country-place v^^ith, perha]3s, a ravine or two on one side of 
it. As one looks at the natural arrangement of rocks on 
the hillside it should be readily apparent that the treat- 
ment of steep and sloping grounds needs consideration as 
well as that of the more level lawns. Trees, shrubs, flower 
gardens, and level lawns, — every one knows something of 
them. There are fe^v, however, who have ever given seri- 



INTRODUCTION. xv 

oils thought to artificial sloping grounds and rockwork 
studied from natural models found in the hills about us. 
Some of us have without cjuestion studied such work in Cen- 
tral Park, New York City, and in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 
L. I. There are, of course, a few other examples in the 
country (^f this genuine American landscape architecture, 
but to not many, I fancy, has it occurred to treat sloping 
grounds in any definite and specialized way. 

I used the term x\merican landscape architecture advis- 
edly, for my words in these chapters are chiefly addressed to 
inhabitants of America, living in a region between North 
Carolina on the one side and Maine on the other, and 
bounded on the west by the Pocky Mountains. The prin- 
ciples and general theory of arranging grounds will doubt- 
less be much the same the world over, but the selection and 
treatment of plants must vary constantly. The plants that 
do well in this part of North America will not necessarily 
succeed in England and on the Continent, while in the same 
latitude in California the same trees will perhaps fail lamen- 
tably. 

Trees and shrubs therefore must be studied carefully 
with due regard to their environment, and in these chapters 
I have moreover undertaken to classify them in a somewhat 
general way in accordance w^ith their suitability to the dif- 
ferent seasons. I contend that this grouping of trees and 
shrubs is not sufficiently looked after when lawns are planted. 
On Morningside Park, New York, for instance, a whole 
hillside is systematically planted, on account of their rich 
color in autumn, with white dogwood ( Co rnus jlorida ) ^ An- 
dromeda arhorea f^or Oxydend^rnm arhoreurm ) ^ liquidambar. 



xvi INTRODUCTION. 

scarlet maple, sumach, Rhus Oshechi, etc. At another point 
many spring-blooming plants are massed, and throughout 
all the tree and shrub groupings come more or less spring-, 
summer-, or fall-blooming kinds scattered about at frequent 
intervals. In regard to the employment of bright- colored 
trees and shrubs, such as Japanese maples, purple beeches, 
and golden oaks, it is important to say that self-restraint 
is advisable. Coloring of the brightest kind is valuable 
duly and properly related to the general mass of the foliage 
of trees and shrubs. The color scheme of tree and shrub 
jjlantation should be, as a rule, in tones of green. Subsidi- 
ary masses may, however, have yellowish or I'eddish tones, 
and even a main mass might be, in some cases, attractively 
designed with only purple beech or golden oak. 

It seems fitting to explain here what I consider the 
proper way to treat shrubs viewed in mass and viewed 
individually. I approach this question with some hesi- 
tation, because it is easy, in talking of such matters, to 
find one's self landed in a tangle of unprecise phrases, 
such as mystery, blending, gardenesque, picturesque, etc., 
etc. There is doubtless a particular composition that 
should be devised for every landscape-gardening j)icture, 
and a broad comprehensive scheme of a high order of 
art may be thus unquestionably established. Foreground, 
middle-distance, and background need due consideration, 
and proper relations of this kind may be un(|uestionably 
established. Trees may be massed on the higher levels, and 
may straggle down hillsides, and may be grouped and em- 
phasized at certain points in a thoroughly artistic manner. 
The stretches of lawn and vistas of trees may extend, 



INTRODUCTION. xvii 



seemingly, to great distances on comparatively small places, 
and many charming effects and surprises in variation of 
sky-line and mystery of far-reaching background may un- 
doubtedly be contrived Avitli success. 

Do not let me give the impression that I question the 
possibility of creating, as it were, all these delightful feat- 
ures of the lawn. Only, and here I will speak frankly and 
from considerable experience, do not undertake too much of 
this kind of thing yourself ; you may fail. Trees will die 
when they have grown to considerable size at artistically 
critical points, or they will fail to grow to just the height 
and diameter required, and a weak realization of the desired 
effect will be attained. 

But to return to the question of treating trees and 
shrubs considered in mass and considered individually. 
The tendency of those who think of the trees in mass 
and in their mass relations, is to crowd them too much 
with their companions, to fail to comprehend their ap- 
pearance at maturity, and thus develop their proper effect 
imperfectly. Such a tendency is apt to " crib and confine " 
the trees, and to undertake to make them do duty after 
a fashion that is not altogether adapted to their nature ; 
that is, if it is not altogether a case of round pegs for 
square holes, to force them just a little. On the other hand, 
the person who dwells specially on the development of the 
individual character of a plant is liable to err in another 
way, and to sacrifice the bi'oad effects and harmoniously 
combined relations of trees to the exhibition of characteris- 
tic and highly perfected individual excellences. 

For most lawns a middle ^vay of arrangement may 



X viii IN TR OD UC TION. 

be pursued with I'easouable satisfaction which will secure 
irood mass effects and a fair consideration for the character- 
istics of individual specimens. There will be the open 
centre of lawn grass and the border plantation of mixed 
trees and shrubs and herbaceous plants with a moderately 
diversified sky-line. Outlying specimens of choice trees and 
shrul)s will vary the outline of the masses here and there, 
and perhaps stand alone at a few points without shrubs. 
Excessive cribbing and confining will bo prevented by 
planting the trees forty to fifty feet apart, and the shrubs 
eight to ten feet apart, with small ones two to four feet 
apart. A simple negative rule for the arrangement of 
trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants is to never plant them 
in a continuous straight line, but in groups with curving 
boundaries and [)laced on the specially prepared crests of 
swelling spots oi- portions of the lawn. Trees and shrubs 
thus placed are favorably exhibited and enal^led to show 
their peculiar beauties better than on a flat surface. 

There are a few simple things pertaining to landscape 
gardening, such as irregular sky-lines and border lines of 
shrub and tree groups, open lawn centres, and boundary 
plantations, attention to vdiich will be likely to secure a 
pleasing effect, even though one foregoes any attempt to 
realize the higher and more subtle features of the art. An- 
other way to simplify and, to my mind, greatly improve the 
arrangement of trees and shrubs is to group a lot of one 
kind of plants together, a hundred Spirma opulifolia here, 
fifty Spirwa Thunhergii thei'e, and so on. It is a large and 
specially effective method of treatment, and really easy of 
accomplishment. 



INTR OD UCTION. xix 



Where a junction of two paths or roads is made, this 
method of arrangement looks well, for a considerable plan- 
tation should be here so contrived as to cover all points of 
connection and give the impression of an unseen way 
through a large grove or group. The question of shade 
and shade trees is one that must never be i2:nored. No 
landscape art can afford to slight the practical necessity for 
shade. All along, and about twenty feet from the drives 
and walks, and not less than fifty feet from the house, shade 
trees, elms, maples, etc., should stand at distances of from 
fifty to seventy-five feet from each other. But beware of, 
in this way, encroaching on the open centre lawns. Noth- 
ing can be a worse j^ractice in landscape gardening. 

I shall have occasion to speak of pruning hereafter 
specifically, but I desire to say in a general way here that 
self-restraint in pruning is a good habit to acquire. To cut 
and chop trees and shrubs every year may be a more perni- 
cious practice than to leave them entirely alone. It is safe 
to say that ^vhat we want in a tree or shrub is to see its 
special and most characteristic beauty. If it naturally 
weeps or spreads, or is pyramidal, we want to see that 
special peculiarity naturally developed and not pruned into 
some monotonous semi-artificial shape. Rather if it be 
symmetrically inclined, lop off a branch here and there to 
emphasize its symmetrical habit ; if it be weeping, increase 
its weeping habit by cutting away shoots that may show 
an upright tendency. If it be an early-blooming shrub, do 
not cut off the already formed flower buds in winter simply 
l^ecause that season happens to be the natural season for 
pruning ^vood, whether bud-bearing or not. Let the spent 



XX INTR OD UCTION. 

flowering wood be removed as in the case of ForsytJiia, as 
soon as the plant has done blooming, thus relieving the 
interior of the plant from being clogged, and paving the 
way for increased abundance and beauty of flowers the 
following spring. Generally speaking, it might be said that 
trees and shrubs do not really require pruning at all, except 
the removal of dead and deformed portions of the growth. 

As regards the selection of trees and shrubs given in 
these chaptei's I have to say that, although it comprises a 
comparatively small list, it yet includes a number of the 
best kinds as well as such as in most cases can be readily 
obtained from leading tree and plant growers. I have 
endeavored to point out in every case the peculiar attrac- 
tions that render the plants suited to the lawn, and have 
avoided as much as practicable all technical botanical terms 
that might be puzzling to the reader. Every one should 
know these plants intimately, know them as friends that he 
ought to see every day on his lawn. And it is in the office 
of such house friends, as the Germans would say, that I 
have endeavored to consider them. 

My statements concerning the hardiness and time of 
blooming of plants must not be taken as absolutely precise. 
I can only oifer the general conclusions of my individual 
experience. Nature performs strange freaks. A plant may 
bloom three weeks later next year than it did this, or two 
shrubs may have bloomed at the same time last year and 
this year one may flower a week earlier than the other. 

The same varying rule applies to the hardiness of plants. 
For years we will find a certain variety, say of rhododen- 
drons, hardy, and then will come a peculiar season, when a 



INTRODUCTION, xxi 



number of wliat we have previously considered tender 
kinds will survive, and the heretofore entirely hardy one 
will go. In judging and determining the value and pe- 
culiarities of a variety in any given locality we must be 
governed by the conclusions of a very considerable experi- 
ence and then be prepared for occasional and startling 
surprises. 

In the discussion of foliage bedding and the use of hardy 
herbaceous perennials, I have endeavored to give a dis- 
tinctly formulated system based on the fundamental and 
general principles of landscape gardening ; and to simplify 
their treatment and make it as definite and precise as pos- 
sible. The illustration of the herbaceous bedding treat- 
ment is to be found in the chapter on " Grandmother's Gar- 
den." I should like very much to recommend more highly 
the use of hardy herbaceous plants in rockwork, on edges 
of lawns, in the long grass, and especially in shady woods. 
They are very charming in such places, but it is not easy to 
manage them, and they will require much renewing. And 
that reminds me to say that the reason why many planta- 
tions of hardy herbaceous perennials grow beautifully less 
in flower and foliage year by year is that they need renew- 
ing. Once in three or four years many of the plants of 
herbaceous borders should be taken up, divided and set out 
again, and in spots where any of them have died, new ones 
planted. 

x\fter discussing trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennial 
plants, and bedding plants, which constitute the material 
of landscape gardening, I have undertaken to set forth in a 
few sketches drawn from the resources of personal experi- 



XXll 



INTRODUCTION. 



ence, the best way to use this material. There are doubt- 
less many other landscape-gardening problems to be solved 
and other kinds of grounds to be laid out than those indi- 
cated in these chapters, but I think, however, that a num- 
ber of the most constantly recurring ones have been fairly 
considered. 

Before concluding this introduction I desire to express 
my obligation for assistance in preparing these chapters to 
Mr. Calvert Vaux, Landscape Architect of the Department 
of Public Parks, New York, to Mr. George C. Woolson, 
Superintending Gardener of the Park Department, and to 
Mr. J. Frangois Huss, General Foreman c^f Construction 
Work in the Park Department. 

In the preparation of the illustrations I am greatly in- 
debted to Mr. Paul Dana, Commissioner of the Department 
of Public Parks, New York, for the loan and reproduction 
of seven excellent photographs, taken by himself, from the 
unsurpassed tree specimens growing on his father's, Mr. 
Charles A. Dana's, great country-place at Dosoris, L. I. 
An excellent photograph of an island in the lake. Central 
Park, New York, is also reproduced with the permission of 
Dr. E. P. Fowler. 




CHAPTER I. 



THE LAWN. 




|0 the minds of most readers the lawn 
suggests simply grass. We say we 
will Avalk on the lavvni, and the 
thought of soft, velvety, newly cut 
grass immediately arises. In an 
ordinary sense, the lawn includes 
trees, shrubs, flowers, rocks, etc., 
but in actual fact, I believe, the 
idea of mown grass is first and foremost in the mind when 
the word lawn is used. I am therefore going to limit my 
I'emarks to the more or less level grass spaces that are open 
and agreeable to those who care to wander over their close- 
cut surface. 

Among shi'ubs, rocks, and flowers, one should not, and 
would not be likely to care to wander. Here the grass 
would be naturally allowed to grow longer, and the inter- 
lacing branches and irregular grass surface woidd impede 
progress. The open close-cut grass space is, moreover, the 
lawn proper for all purposes of occupation. 



THE LAWN. 



During Lot ^veathel•, ^vhe^ it is not actinilly raininij:;, we 
confine ourselves to the foot-putLs or carriage-roads of tlie 
place wliere gravel, stone, boards, oi- asphalt afford safe 
and convenient promenade almost immediately after a down- 
fall of rain. Later on, however, when the snn comes out 
and dries np the moisture, we may enjoy perhaps for days, 
in the American climate, the great open spaces of green- 
sward, Avhich \ve pi'opose to call the lawn. Here, in a 
sense, the family may be said, during certain seasons, to live 
for a large portion of the time. As soon as the dew is off, 
should there ])e any, some elder member of the family will 
be found wandering al)out, looking for flowers, or simply 
breathing the fresh morning aii'. Soon little children dash 
out, chasing l)utterflies or tumbling over each other in 
simple glee of existence, revelling in the feeling of the rich, 
soft, thick turf. Later, perhaps, comes a game of ball or 
tag among the older boys, which can only be played satis- 
factorily on the lawn. Finally, in the evening, at sunset, 
and later, the family may again linger on the lawn to enjoy 
the soft turf and long shadows on the greensward. 

The pleasures of sight, and varied m(^vement, it is ac- 
knowledged, are increased a hundred-fold by the studied 
comfort and adornment of the house itself in the special 
features of carpets, and walls, and chairs, and tables. AVhy 
should we not then seek to extend the sphere of our artistic 
endeavor to perfecting and ornamenting our lawns ? It 
should, after all, be considered as much a part of the house 
domain as the verandah. 

Feeling the importance, therefore, of making the lawn a 
place for the family to occupy, as though it were a part of the 



THE LA VVN. 



actual house, I aiu going to try to tell the reader just bow to 
s^o to work to make liis lawn so that it can be actually used 
as well as looked at. In this country especially, we see a 
2;reat many poor lawns and very few good ones, and a })()or 
lawn should be considered as inexcusable a home-feature 
as a I'agged or soiled carpet. We often fail to make good 
roads and walks, and tree and shrub ])lantations, but we 
more often fail to make good lawns. 

The reason for this may be found in the fact that when 
we make a road or walk of gravel, or asphalt, oi' other arti- 
ficial material, we generally have a clear idea of the result 
we shall attain ; when we plant trees we can foresee, with 
some degree of certainty, what their future comj^aratively 
unhampered growth will be, l)ut, least of all, does this apply 
to lawns, as lawns are usually made in this country to-day. 

I do not propose in my present remarks to allow myself 
to be drawn, however, into the fascinating discussion, intro- 
duced by Mr. James B. Olcott, of the Connecticut Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, concerning the use of selected 
pieces of pure grass sod for making lawns. Experiments in 
this direction may, and doubtless will, finally enable us to 
make lawns possessing a beauty and durability under the 
stress of daily occupation, of which we have little concep- 
tion at present. 

But I will say now and here, that sad experience has 
proved long ago that want of pure grass seed, and the right 
variety of grass seed, is one of the chief causes of the failure 
and uncertainty of lawns. Seedsmen cannot furnish pure 
grass seed, because no one grows pure grass seed, and cer- 
tainly not the best sorts of seed for making good greensward. 



THE LA WN. 



But in order to make the best greensward that we can 
reasonably expect to obtain, in view of the practice of the 
present da}', let lis take an ordinary piece of ground in the 
rongh, covered with stones, wild turf, and weeds. It must 
not be an extreme case of sand or clay. Special ways of 
treatment would have to be devised for these, and we might 
imagine fifty cases, each of which would require a different 
mode of treatment. We had better, therefore, confine our- 
selves to an average or ordinary example of the way to 
make a lawn. This supposition would include a moderately 
heavy loam, some stone, and many weeds, 

Tlie first thing to be considei'ed in such cases is the 
drainage ; I mean the drainage of the lawn, and not of the 
roads. People are apt to stop when they have drained their 
roads and walks, and forget that the lawn requires such a 
thing as drainage. 

I am not, however, going to linger much on this ques- 
tion, supremely important though it be to many lawns. 
The fact is, our average lawn does not need any drainage, 
except where in some limited spot water is apt to lie a part 
of the year. In such cases, drains of horse-shoe, or four- 
inch round tile, should be laid to some main drain, or open 
guttei' along a road or street. No doubt there are cases of 
only moderately heavy loam, where the moisture sticks and 
lingers, in an undue degree, and here under-drainage is 
needed. Under-drainage on ordinary lawns will be only re- 
<juired in limited areas, that is in valleys or hollows made 
by the lay of the land. 

This question of under-drainage once settled and rele- 
gated to the realm of scientific treatises, to which this book 



THE LAWN. 



does not purport to belong, we slioukl also point out that it 
is necessary to so grade the lawn as to properly distribute 
the surface water. 

What, then, is the first thing to l)e done to our lawn in 
the rough after the problems of under-drainage and surface 
distribution of water have been dis[)osed of '. AV'hy, sim- 
ply to cart off the stones and cut down the weeds with a 
scythe. The ground thus roughly cleaned, the next thing 
is to plow it up or spade it at least a foot deep. If the 
subsoil is not actually sandy, it will be well to go farther 
down. Deep culture is of great value to a lawn. It en- 
sures better resistance to droughts and a more even and 
luxuriant growth of grass. 

I am coming now to a point that is of the utmost im- 
portance to the development of a good lawn, and that is 
the removal of all weeds, stones, and roots from the soil to 
a foot or more in depth. On the proper removal and burn- 
ing of these weeds and roots the ultimate success of the 
lawn largely depends. Once plowing, raking, forking, and 
burning may not suffice ; twice may not, and even three 
times may not, but no matter how many may be needed, 
they must be given. Deep and thorough culture is a neces- 
sity to a lawn, absolute and fundamental. There is no 
cause, })erhaps, more prolific of bad lawns than poor culture. 
I care not what tools you use, j^low or spade (ordinarily 
the plow should suffice), tilth and cleanness of soil you must 
have. By cleanness, of course, I mean, at the best, approxi- 
mate cleanness, for millions of embryo seeds must lurk 
in most soils, clean them as often as you will. But if you 
will clean them again and again, by plowing and raking, 



6 777^ LA WN. 



you will tiud that the young grass will get a better chance 
to occupy the ground with their root feeders before the 
roots of the weeds enter in and take possession. 

Having accomplished the plowing and cleaning, the 
next thing is to do the grading. Now the grading is a 
nice operation, which I'equires not only a good knowledge 
of landscape gardening but an intuitive, artistic conception 
of the best effect that can be produced under existing cir- 
cunistauces. It is not easy to convey any broad and gener- 
ally I'eliable suggestions on this subject, so mucli depends 
on individual suiToundings and ^peculiarities of position. 
However, I will endeavor to convey some idea of what 
I mean. 

In the fii'st place, the I'eader may, for instance, fancy 
himself at his front door-step as the most important point 
from which he should view his lawn. From this point he 
must look on the view as a picture with an open centre and 
boundary enclosure, the lawn being, for convenience of 
illustration, the open centre, and the trees, shrubs, and 
tlowei's the boundary enclosure. I insist upon this illustra- 
tion because I want it understood that tlie lawn is to be 
open : there may be allo\ved a fe^^' outlying trees and 
shrubs and Howers, but the lawn is to be practically open, 
closely cut greensward, suitable for people to ^valk about 
on and children to play on without obstruction. If this 
end is not accomplished, I consider the lawn a failure. 

Looking from the front door-steps, we must first con- 
sider our lawn as a comparatively flat surface — in a word, 
as level. Of coui"se nature does nothing stiffly or on abrupt 
or riiz'id lines. Her work is one of infinite orradatious or 



THE LA WN. 



shadings. What appears to us as level at a little distance, 
when we approach it may prove to be a gentle swell. 

As we walk over a natural vale, or lawn — if I may be 
allowed the term, — we lind a continual change in tlie grade 
of the surface. If we should attempt to make level an 
artificial lawn "sve could not do it. We would only succeed 
in making stiff lines and awkward transitions of grade. 
At the outset, therefore, long, swelling, easy lines of grade 
should be sought. For the better effect of the l)oundary 
enclosure of trees and shrubs and flowei's, the lawn should 
be made hollowing, and for the better enjoyment of those 
walking over its surface, this hollowing should be easy and 
closely approaching the level. 

It is evident that this theory of grading Avill apply 
ecpially well to ground sloping down or up from the front 
of the house, only the general slope should be not too steep 
or the pleasure of walking on it will be diminished. I 
shall speak of this further when I consider the treatment of 
sloping grounds that cannot l)e properly termed lawns. I 
desire to say that so important do I considei* it that all 
la^vns should Ije in part at least more or less level that I 
Avould l)e willinsx in ^adinii: to remove a laro^e amount of 
earth entirely, or mound it up at the front along the road or 
at the sides, in order to secure this level lawn effect. The 
sense of the repose, comfort, and beauty associated with the 
idea of a lawn disappears when it grows steep. 

Let me say, however, that I do not wish to indicate that 
the lawn should be made only in front of the house. It 
may Ije even better arranged at the back of the house. All 
considerable lawns are improved by isolating from them the 



THE LA WN. 



carriage drives and even the foot-paths. The most agreea- 
ble way of arranging a house and grounds, if convenience will 
permit it, is to have the drives and walks come in from the 
highway, merely turning about a small grass plot. With 
the hall and kitchen and other business parts of the house 
on this side, it is desirable then to have the library and 
living rooms open out on the main lawn, and if })ossible the 
finest view. You have thus the best part of the home 
grounds to yourself undisturbed by carriages or undesii-able 
foot passengers. 

Seclusion and the shutting in of the lawn as part of the 
actual home has always a peculiar charm of its own. I 
would not, as a rule, emulate the strict exclusiveness of our 
English brethren who, in so many cases, shut themselves in 
with great stone walls, but I would fence myself round 
about in some way. I would suri'ound the home lawns with 
masses of trees and shrubs, and so dispose the main lawn 
in connection with the house as to make it my own special 
and peculiar domain. 

Having plowed, cleaned, and roughly graded the lawn 
into a comparatively level, gently swelling surface, the next 
thing is to cover it over with a heavy coat of rich manure, 
twenty-five, thirty, forty, fifty loads to the acre. Spread it 
on liberally, all you can get under, provided it is Avell 
decomposed. Use thoroughly decayed composted stable 
manure if you can get it ; if not, bone-dust, wood-ashes, 
supei'phosphate of lime, nitrate of ammonia, etc. 

AVhat is required in the manui'e is plenty of ammonia, 
then phosphoric acid, lime, soda, potash, and magnesia, etc., 
but when you use these salts of soda, potash, etc., as con- 




THE LA WN. 9 



ceutrated fertilizers, you may happen not to apply them in. 
proper quantities. Bone-dust acts slowly on grass lands, 
though well, and so does wood-ashes with its phosphates 
and potash salts, but stable manure, with the one drawback 
of sometimes bringing in foul weeds, seems to act more 
quickly and at the same time as permanently as any other 
fertilizer. People try everything else, but come back to the 
properly composted heap of barnyard manure, with the feel- 
ing that therein lies their true source of strength for creating 
permanently rich grass lands. There is doubtless a large 
percentage of a load of stable manure that is of little use to 
the land, but the application of fifty loads of manure to an 
acre seems to present the nutriment in a form and combina- 
tion that will do the land the most good. There is not 
much scientific theory in these suggestions about manuring 
lawns, I know, but you will find it is plain common-sense. 
Experiment with artificial manures all you can, but let it be 
at first on a small scale, and it will repay your trouble by 
the information gained as to what your special soil actually 
needs. Do the bulk of your fertilizing with barnyard 
manure and your average i-esults will be satisfactory ; then 
if your other experiments develop some peculiar need of 
your soil, you can give up the barnyard manure, and use for 
a while some concentrated special fertilizer. 

Now that your laud is graded, and the surface covered 
with fertilizing material, the next thing is to dig or plow 
lightly the entire surface of the ground and then harrow 
and hand-rake it thoroughly, and remove agaiu_^ntirely all 
stones, roots, and foul weeds that come to the surface. It is 
wonderful how these stones, roots, and weeds, crop out with 



10 THE LA IVN. 



repeated plowinc:, harrowing, and raking. The supply seems 
in many soils unlimited. As I have said, however, already, 
thoroughness in such work is of vital importance to the 
success of the lawn. The raking is of importance, more- 
over, to secure fine pulverizing of the top soil intended to 
receive the gi'ass seed. 

But the (juestion that now arises is, what kind of grass 
seed shall be used I The seedsman will give you a mixture 
of lawn gi'ass seed, and if the business firm be reputable, it 
will doubtless produce fair results. Let us, however, look 
a little closer into the matter. I have said that very little 
conception generally exists of the actual appearance of any 
lawn that is in process of construction, that is, that has been 
recently sown. And in considering this (piestion of the 
l)est kind of o-rassseed, we becjin to realize the truth of this 
assertion. 

Tn the first place, grass seed of any kind can be seldom 
secured reasonably pure. Any seedsman, if he be candid, 
Avill tell you that. He will, doubtless, say in addition, what 
is true, that grass seed is a great deal cleaner now than it 
was a few years ago. Better methods of cleaning grass 
seed have been devised, and more pains are taken to secure 
this desirable result. But the question still remains, what 
kind of grass seed shall we use I There ai'e, as all persons 
at all acquainted with grasses know, hundreds of varieties, 
many, very many that are not named in the catalogues of 
seedsmen. 

Of these, one perhaps is best suited to this })articular 
soil, and on the next field another is required. This one 
does well here, that kind dies out there. What are we to 



1 



THE LAWN. 11 



do '. It is vei'ily ;i puzzle. \\\<X then after all, we cannot 
hope to get really pure seed of the kind we select at last. 
We sow it, and with it will spring up some unknown grass 
or weed that will destroy entirely the effect we have 
expected. 

Grass sods of some pure, i-ichdooking, and permanent 
variety might he used with success, but where are they to 
l)e obtained in quantities ? To make a lawn with grass 
sod would be more expensive than with grass seed, l)ut if 
selected grass sod could l)e obtained, it Avould doubtless 
produce far l)etter, more endui'ing aud attractive I'esults. 
In view, however, of the entire lack at pi'esent of nurseries 
or plots of the right kind of sod, ^ve are obliged to fall back 
on the ordinary grass seeds that can be purchased of repu- 
table seedsmen at the present time. 

In the fii'st place, Avhen you go to the seedsman do not 
1)uy a lawn grass mixture. Do the mixing yourself if there 
is to l)e any. It \vill be cheaper and better. Secondly and 
lastly, limit yourself to two or three kinds that are likely to 
grow well in the pai'ticular kind of soil you expect to sow. 
There is a prevailing desii-e to sow white clover on the lawn. 
Now I contend that \vhite clover is out of place on the 
lawn. To me a greensward of red top or Kentucky 
1)lue grass is always more attractive than one mottled with 
\vhite clover. 

Then as t<> the mixture of grasses, there is, to my mind, 
a great deal of current error. Why not select a strong, vig- 
orous variety that grows tolerably thick-set, and sow that 
onl}'. If you sow twenty other kinds, they will all proba- 
bly be run out in a few years by this aud some other strong- 



12 THE LA JVJV. 



growing variety that may come in by accident. The 
important thing is to secure a variety that will spring up 
vigorously and take possession of the soil before other less 
attractive grasses and weeds occup>' the ground. 

In ordei' to accomplish this, we may be even obliged to 
select a solne^\^hat coarse variety. On the lawns of Central 
Park, for instance, a great deal of KentuckyJiliLfi^rass has 
been used, not because it is, by any means, the most attrac- 
tive of gi'asses, but because it is vigorous and holds its own 
even on sandy ground, and makes a fairly good-looking sod. 
This kind an d her(is' g rass, or i-ed top, form the staple of 
most lawn-grass mixtures used in the United States. E-hode 
Island bent grass is highly valued by many, and makes an 
excellent sod, particularly in a moist climate. Red top in 
a sandy soil is apt to die oif in droughts occurring Just after 
germination. Its first growth is not, in such cases, quite 
vigorous enough, although the (piality of the sod it produces 
is much finer than that of Kentucky blue gi-ass. Another 
objection to red top seed is its general impurity as found 
in the market. 

Having secured our seed, such as it is, the next question 
is, in what (piantities and how shall we sow it ? Again comes 
in the (piestion of the quality of soil, its comparative moist- 
ure, and its cleanness. Under the most favorable circum- 
stances a large proj^ortion of the seed sown will fail to 
germinate. It is therefore wise to sow grass seed liberally. 
The price of grass seed is comparatively low. I have con- 
sequently not hesitated to use, in some cases, six bushels 
of Kentucky blue grass or red top to the acre, although 
seedsmen only advise two or three. The art of sowing 



THE LAWN. 13 



grass seed properly reipiires some experience to acquire. 
The Qjreat difficulty is to sow it evenly. Like mowing and 
other farming operations, it takes trouble to learn how to 
sow grass seed properly. You must get up early in the 
morning before the wind has risen. You must consider the 
direction from which the wind blows and do a good many 
things that can hardly be set down intelligently on paper. 

When the seed is sown the next thing is to rake with a 
fine-toothed iron rake the entire lawn over thoroughly. 
Some people content themselves with a harrow for such 
work, but it does imperfect work at best. Aftei* the raking 
a heavy iron roller should be used at once over every part 
where the seed is sown. This sets the seed in the ground 
hi-mly and helps wonderfully to secure an even mat of 
grass, especially if a drought sets in soon after the sowing. 
It is a good plan also to continue this rolling once or twice 
after the grass has started and before it is fit to mow. 

The first cuttius: with the mowins; machine should come 
as soon as the grass is high enough for the knives of the 
machine to fairly take hold. Frequent mowing during the 
eai'ly development of the lawn tends to thicken and 
strengthen the growth of lawn grass and thus keep down 
objectionable wild grasses and weeds. 

Having reached this point, however, in the construction 
of a lawn, most people are liable to consider that nothing 
more than an occasional mowing is needed. And just here 
a great mistake is made, and the establishment of a reason- 
ably perfect lawn retarded, or, in most cases, absolutely 
prevented. Perhaps I may startle some one when I state 
that to keep up a good lawn, in many places, requires as 



14 



THE LA IVN. 



much careful and continual culture, with our present 
quality of seed, as to keep a ilower-bed in order ; but it is a 
fact. And why should we not consider the well-beinar of 
each spear of grass as important as that of each coleus or 
geranium in the ilower-bed. The spear of grass is actually 
the most important factor in the enjoyment of the home 
grounds. 

Viemng the matter in this light, we should not hesitate 
to weed the lawn all summer if necessary, to water it daily 
in dry weather, and yearly renew bare spots with ]:»etter 
soil, to cover it with seed again, and fertilize the entire 
surface with frequent applications of manure, and in addi- 
tion to roll it from time to time when the ground is soft. In 
the course of years, however, the good results of such work 
must tell, and the necessity for it become much diminished ; 
but vigilance and intelligent cultui'e will be always and con- 
tinually required under the most favorable circumstances. 





CHAPTER II. 

THE TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 



AM couviuced that tlie reader ^v\\l 
find this subject a novel one. The 
principles governing it are not, so 
far as I am awai'e, laid down in 
the books, and yet some of the most 
charming effects of our best park 
la\vns come from an accidental or 
intentional arrangement of the kind I am about to describe. 
There are certain primary conditions or divisions that 
make up all parks or home-grounds. Walks, drives, green- 
sward or lawns, plantations, whether trees, shrubs, or 
flowers, and the intermediate spaces that may l)e called 
" sloping grounds," make up characteristic landscape-garden- 
ing effects. These sloping grounds may come down to the 
drives or walks or they ma}^ slope upward, in steps as it 
were, to highei' lawns or plateaus. They may be made of 
turf, rocks, vines or trees, shrubs or perennial plants, of 
each alone, or of all, or of only part mingled togethei'. The 
la\vn itself we have decided to consider for the purpose of 

15 



16 TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 

comfortable aucl pleasant occupation as level or slightly 
hollowing. 

The accompanying illustration will convey some idea of 
what I mean by a slightly hollowing lawn. This surface 
is to my mind quite as irregular as one would desire for 
pleasant walking, and anything more irregular I should call 
sloping grounds, and not properly a lawn. We may find 
attractive sloping grounds all ready-made for us by nature 
or we may be obliged to humbly follow her lead and treat 
more or less artificially our sloping grounds after the fashion 
23ractised by the natural forces about us. 

The hardest part of such work is to keep from exag- 
gerating nature or repeating over and over again some one 
of her ways of doing things. It shoidd l)e always remem- 
bered, in landscape gardening, that nature never repeats 
herself. A torrent of I'aiu rushes down a hillside and ploughs 
fun'ows or heaps piles of stones in its path and partially 
covei's them with earth from above, but it never ploughs 
the same kind of furrow twice or heaps up the earth and 
stones again in the same Avay. There will be, indeed a cer- 
tain similarity in the trend of the furrows and the course 
of the i-olling stones. This may be largely established by 1 
the character and pitch of the slope, or it may come from 
the general directicni of the storms. 

Keeping this in mind, we will proceed to consider the 
best way to treat sloping grounds of obvious steepness. 
There are two kinds of steep sloping ground in connection 
witli lawns wliich require special modes of handling. One 
we may describe as artificially irregular, and the other as 
only in pai-t artificially irregidar. A portion of it may be 



18 TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 

already found in jdace, and to attain the desired effect it 
may be simply necessary to supplement it with ^vork of a 
similar cliaracter. The wholly artificial sloping gi'ound 
will be required whei-e it is necessary to support a steep 
bank connected with a terrace or upper lawn })lateau. It 
may be also required in the immediate vicinity of a house, 
or, as in the illustration, along a skirting boundary wall. 
The second kind consists in great part of a mass of natural 
rock, ^vhich, cropping out of a hillside, separates a lower 
from a higher lawn, or borders a path or roadway, or body 
of water, or a plantation and lawn. 

In order to explain more satisfactorily the projDer 
method of treating sloping grounds, I have employed three 
illustrations of the ^vork of actually constructing such feat- 
ures. In the first illustration, a rough ungraded bank in 
Central Park is shown ; then another, where the workmen 



•vjAV V.',' 







ROUGH UNGRADED BANK. 



have finished grading a piece of ground and a steep bank 
at one end. 

It will be noticed that the l)ank is very steep and needs 
to be kept up to its abrupt angle. If such a place were 



TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 19 

subjected to the action of the elements for years, with the 
soil as full of l)oiilders as it is in the immediate neighbor- 
hood, you would find that, in time, a state of things would 
be established like the one seen in the illustration below. 




CLOSELY-MASSED ROCKS ON FINISHED STEEP BANK. 

Gullies of different depths and like general direction would 
course down between half -uncovered rocks that may have 
been long embedded there or may have rolled down to this 
point. Alcove, just over the rocks, will appear mounded 
up earth as though soil had washed down and collected 
alcove the stone obstruction. 

Sometimes there will be several of these rocks clustered 
together and holding up a steep portion of the banks, and 
again, considerable spaces will occur without rocks, but they 
may still be slightly gullied or lightly scooped out, as it 
were, by the elements over a considerable area. The entire 
bank, finished on these natural lines, is sodded, as it is too 
steep to retain and properly germinate grass seed. Rains 
would be sure to wash the seed away. 



20 TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 



I 



It will be seen l)y this brief explanation that rockwork 
must be constructed on nature's lines after a careful study 
and analysis of nature's methods of doing such work. 

The illustration of the next bank shows the way to treat 
sloping gi'ounds where the steepness is not so great. Here I 
larger areas are open and longer gullies appear where the 
sweep of the water has apparently had more opportunity to 
leave broad marks. 

The placing of these rocks requires much ai't. It will 
be seen that they are not set pai'allel with each other, but 
that they have a likeness of setting, as if a gully had been 
opened l)ehind them, and that its course had determined 
the dip and set of the rocks. The gullies naturally have 
also the same general similarity, although throughout the 
whole arrangement extends the greatest diversity of for- 
mation. 

Thus far I have spoken of and illustrated entirely arti- 
ficial rockwork, and of course artificial rockwork may take 
special forms. It may be a bank to be treated with rocks, 
as we have seen, or it may be a group of stones to protect a 
tree, around which earth is to be filled. The curves of di'ives 
may need rocks to fend off carriage- wheels, or there may 
be an extended terrace, in front or on the side of the house, 
that must be held in \^dth rocks. In each and every case 
the simple object to be sought is to make the effect look 
entirely natural, as if it had been brought about in long 
course of time under the stress of wind and rain. 

There is also the second or semi-artificial rockwork to 
be considered, the kind that is a supplementary rockwork 
to that already standing naturally in place. Instances of 



I 



22 TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 

this kind are to be found everywhere Id countries where 
stone abounds, along paths aud roads, between upper and 
lower lawns, near the house, and along boundary lines. 
In fact, they may be found everywhere as problems dis- 
tinctly in sight and rerpii ring treatment. I except of course 
rocks that stand up in the middle of roads or paths. From 
such places the rock must be simply removed at least two 
feet below the surface of tlie ground. Many la^vns turn 
brown in summer on account of the proximity of rock to 
the surface. 

If you will note the illustration of a charming lawn of 
Central Park near the Webster Statue and the head of the 
Mall, you ^vill see how the rocks crop out of the outskirts 
of the territory. It is in the neighborhood of these rocks, 
where they have not been blasted away sufficiently, that the 
first effects of drous^ht are felt. The lawn of the illustra- 
tion is like a shallow bowl, beautifully modelled, and, as 
already noted, it re[)resents the extreme of irregularity that 
should be given a lawn. 

Many of the rocks around it are natural, l)ut in order to 
supplement and complete their attractions others have been 
set contiguous to them in such a manner as to make the 
whole seem to ])e an entirely natui-al effect. 

Let us now turn to the illustration of the Cave in the 
Ramble, Central Park. It is an excellent example of this 
semi-artificial rockwork. In the first place, it should be 
explained that the entire Cave and the hollow space around 
it Avere found originally to be filled up to a high level with 
rich mould. For the sake of the mould, all the soil was 
carted out, leaving a great excavation not very unlike 



24 TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 



what we see in the picture. Just here, however, came 
iu the art. 

Ill carryiug out the work of park construction, all the 
desirable effects were simply emphasized and completed. 
On top of the solid wall of rock adjoining, more rocks were 
set, while on the other side where little but earth probably 
appeared in the original excavation, many large rocks were 
set on edge as if they had accidentally slid down to their 
present position. The planting of trees and vines and the 
laying of a convenient walk to the Cave complete the entirely 
natural eifect presented ])y the picture. 

The illustration of the steps to the Cave is introduced 
principally to show the proper method of treating such 
places. The most perfect rustic stejjs are of course rough- 
hewn slabs of stone, but as these are often hardly agreeable 
to the feet, good practice has accepted the cut granite step, 
roughly edged. This somewhat artificialdooking stone does 
not look well directly alongside the greensward, and the 
turf at that point is liable to be kicked to pieces by the feet 
of those passing up and down the steps. It will be seen in 
the picture how this difficulty is overcome by bordering all 
the steps with large stones set so as to look as natural 
as possible. No rustic steps should indeed be set without 
this border or natural coping of rockwork. 

In another illustration taken from Central Park will be 
seen the way in which a shore should be treated where 
a great mass of ]-ock extends sheer down into the depths of 
the pool. By looking closely you ^vill see two large I'ocks 
lying in the water. Although they seem to have only hap- 
pened there, it should be understood that they were care- 



26 TREATMENT OE SLOPING GROUNDS. 



fully placed at the very point they occupy to increase the 
desired natural effect. Where the shore is less occupied by 
a huge mass of rock, and yet is steep, a good-sized stone, set 
here and there in the water, is very effective. The shore 
line should be diversified by pushing out a cluster of stones 
at one point, and at another flanking a bay with a broad 
long rock with its base in the water. At the lowest part of 
the bank there may be arranged with good effect a sandy 
beach. 

The rocks, I should explain, must not be clustered too 
thickly on a bank. There should l)e plenty of plant space 
between tlie rocks, otherwise they will appear to be simply 
an artificial heap of stones. Some rocks will of course be 
contiguous, but many of the others should in that case be 
kept farther apart. I doubt if, in most cases, such a bank 
should have more than half its surface covered with rocks. 
The rest should be turf, vines, or trees and shrubs, and the 
manner of using grass and plants in rockwork is a distin- 
guishing mark of the best landscape-gardening art. 

This reference to trees and shrubs leads me to the con- 
sideration of tlie remaining and specially important part of 
the treatment of sloping grounds, namely, the use of turf 
and plants of all kinds in connection with rockwork. The 
illustrations show many large trees and shrul^s mingled with 
the rocks, and numerous Virginia creepers and other vines 
trailing over their surface in such a manner and thickness 
as to relieve the solid character of the stony masses. 

It is important to observe the practice of so pruning and 
training \ines in such places as to always leave exposed 
somethinir of the ireneral effect and contour of the rock. 



28 TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 



As a rule, the vines should be planted in the deepest soil 
near the top of the rock, and not at the base. The excep- 
tion to this rule is the Ampelopsis tricuspidata or Japan 
ivy. Wherever this excellent vine is planted in rock\vork, 
it should stand at the base of a rock, and thus climb up by 
means of its rootlets, rather than fall over and lose its most 
characteristic effect. It is a tliick-L>:rowing vine, and com- 
pletely covers any moderate-sized space it seizes on. Thin- 
ning out this vine is not easy. It does not look natural for 
some time after being thinned out, no matter how much 
care is taken. For this I'eason, the Japan ivy is not to be 
generally commended for covering rocks. Such vines as 
Virginia creeper, honeysuckles, Virginia silk, Ahehia qui- 
■nata, trumpet creeper (Tecoma radicans), clematis, Dutch- 
man's pipe, bitter-sweet ( Celastnis scmidens), and above 
all Wistaria, are always found picturesque-looking on rocks. 

Trees and shrul)s should l)e planted on the higher por- 
tions of the l)anks oi- sloping grounds, and not usually in 
the valleys or hollows. This arrangement tends to increase 
the effect of the irregularity of the grounds and em[)liasizes 
the higher points that manifestly require emphasis. 

Some of the best trees and shrubs for planting among 
rocks are those that weep or droop, or are irregular and pic- 
turesque-looking. Among trees I may name as specially 
suitable for this purpose, the varieties of Japanese maple 
(Acer pol[i7norplruin)^ the alders, Andromeda arhorea^ 
Araliii Hpinosa (Hercules clul)), Aralia Japonica^ white 
birch, European and American hornbeam, white-ilowering 
dogwood, (^ratfegus Crus-gedJi (the cock-spur thorn), O. 
coccinea^ ^vee[)ing beech, honey-locust, Kentucky coffee 



TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 29 



tree, ^veepiug larch, pyramidal oak, Lombardy poplar, 
Rhus aromatica aud Rhus glabra laciniata or cut-leaved 
suniacL, the ginkgo tree ( tSalishuria adiantifoUa ) , Salix 
rosmarinifolia (rosemary-leaved willow), and tlie Japan 
weeping ( Sophora). Some of the shrubs 
suitable for rocky regions are the Ghent 
or hardy azalea, Clethra alnifolia, Cornus 
sangumea alba (the red-twigged dogwood). 
Daphne Genhwa, Deutzia graGilis, Elceagnus 
hortensis, Elceagnus longvpes^ Euonymus 
alatiLs, Forsythia suspensa, Fothergilla al- 
nifolia^ Genista scoparia (Scotch broom), 
Genista tinctoria, Itea Yirginica, Kerria 
Ja])onica, Tasmimtm iiudijiorum, Lonicera 
fragrantissiniaj Lycium. harharitm^ Myrica 
cerifera, Prinos verticillata, Pruiius maid- 
tinia, Rhodotypus Icerrioi- 
des, Ruhus odoratus, Sam- 
hiLGus nigra aurea, Spirwa 
Reevesiana, 8. callosa, 8. 
callosa alba, S. ojjulifolia, 
8yniphoriearp)us vulgaris^ 
8. racemosa, Tamarix Afri- 
cana, T. Indica, Vihurnmni 
opidus, Yucca filamentosa^ 
and Y. recur va. 

The best evergreens for rockwork are the weeping 
hemlock, the weeping Norway spruce or Picea excelsa 
invertct, Picea excelsa elata, Cedrus Atlantica^ Juniper us 
Virginiana (the red cedar), P. prostrata, J. squamata, J. 




YUCCA RECURVA. 



30 TREATMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 



tamariscifolia (all three kuowu as the creeping Jimiper), 
J. Sahina or savin juniper, Abies i^ectinata ijendula 
(weeping silver fir), Pinus Cemhni, Pinus Muglio, Ret- 
mospora ohtusci, P. jUifeva pendida., Sciadopitys verticillata, 
tlie Japan parasol pine, rhododendrons. Azalea atnmiia., 
Cotoneaster hiixifolia, Cratcegus or Cotoneaster pyracavtha^ 
Kalmia latifolla (broad-leaved laurel), Berheris or Ma- 
lionia Aquifoliwm, and M. Japonicmn. 

There are also a large number of hardy herbaceous 
perennials that are peculiarly well suited to rockwork. 

A word, before closing this chapter, on the kind of rock- 
treatment that genei'ally passes for good work among garden- 
ers. It generally consists of an irregular pile of stones, Avith a 
little soil tucked in pockets here and there for the reception 
of vines and flowers. The stones chosen are frequently 
brousfht from a considerable distance in order to secure the 
very quality they should not have, viz., that of strangeness 
and unlikeness to the common rock seen at home. Flowers 
and vines may, of course, be attractive in themselves, grow- 
ing out of a pile of stones, but unrelated stones heaped up 
in a mass, that is in no sense in key or harmony with the 
rest of the landscape, have no excuse for their special arrange- 
ment in a landscape-gardener's picture. 

It is to be regretted that landscape gardeners so often 
fail to grasp the combined possibilities and proper relations 
of the different features of the places they undertake to 
treat. If they could only look upon their work in a large 
and artistic manner, they would see that rocks planted in 
the ground at the points where they would appear most 
natural and most needed contribute to secure some of the 



1 



77?^^ TMENT OF SLOPING GROUNDS. 31 



best effects of the entire lawn. Heaps of stones, on the 
other hand, set on end with their points sticking up, even 
with the nested vines and flowers, always serve to mar the 
I'epose of the place. 



■^'^j? 




CHAPTER III. 

SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 




PRINGTIME is the season of l)uds. 
jSTow everything is swelling \\dth 
revived life and ecstasy. The new 
year is growing, and natui'e is ]>nrst- 
ing with all possible haste into the 
full [)erfection of June. Some spe- 
cially endowed plants actually reach, 
their goal of bloom before summer sets her seal-warrant on 
their perfection, but they do it in many cases only by pre- 
senting their Ho^vei's (»n twigs and branches, which scarcely 
as yet show their leaves. 

So many plants have this habit of flowering before 
their leaves appear that I pro[)Ose to dwell chiefly on 
their intrinsic peculiarities as dominating the most charac- 
teristic portions of spiing effects on the lawn. I always 
fancy April and early Ma}' as the trne springtide of the 
year. Late May is genei'ally June in appearance as far as 
the effects of grass, foliage, and flowers go. The hurry and 
activity of the l)right ear-ly spring days have passed by the 

32 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN 33 



middle of May, and we find ourselves fast settling down 
into the slumberous ricli fulness of content inspired by the 
gracious conditions of early summer. The activities of 
spring have culminated into the restfulness of summei*. 

It is the activities of spring, however, that I wish to 
consider at present, fully believing that no moi-e charming 
subject can enchain our attention tlian the simultaneous 
unfolding, as it were, of the leaf and flower bud of all nature. 
It is a new birth, and inspires all the glad feelings associated 
with an actual resurrection. The very sight of nature at 
this season is a positive delight, and the lawn, so planted as 
to exhibit properl}' the glories of this season, will surely 
gain a charm unspeakable. Nor is the charm less for 
people generally, but rather more, because in a full com- 
numity of interest in tliis particular season every one 
feels, recognizes, and takes possession of the evident charm 
as common property. There is none of the elusiveness of 
some of the shy beauties of other parts of the year. 

As we walk upon the tender, emerald greensward we 
luxuriate and glory in the very bounteousuess with which 
nature is renewing her mystei'ious powers about us. We 
are insatiable ; Ave demand the evident presence of spring 
everywhere on the lawn. The object is not yet the i-ich 
composition of color in fall effects, not yet the quiet subdued 
masses of late summer foliage, nor even the broad glow and 
gleam of June. 

In contemplating once moi'e the wonderful mystery of 
renewed creation, exemplified hj fi'eshly budding leaf and 
flower, we simply seek with avidity something of special 
-spring foliage and bloom everywhere. It is not enough to 

3 



34 SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LAWN 



see this foliage and bloom freshly put forth at our doorstep, 
but their beauty must appear on all sides, under the trees, 
down by the stream, in a part of every shrub group, on the 
vines of the porch or boundary wall — in shoi-t, on every 
spot where their presence will not unduly usurp the 
province of the flowers and foliage of other seasons of the 
year. 

Unlike the fall effects, moreover, which are specially 
effective on a large lawn, the beauties of spring ornamental 
plants may be restricted to very small dimensions, and 
actually in such cases furnish lovely lawn-planting eifects 
from the very charm alone of their detail. 

You will perceive, therefore, that my endeavor in 
treating of spring on the lawn resolves itself into com- 
paratively simple descriptions of lovely bits of color and 
form in actual process of being ^vrought into the most 
charming lawn-planting combinations. I would not imply 
that these processes are not going on during the entire 
summer, only that now we feel them to be a dominant 
feature of the time. They are in full action all around us, 
and we are in sympathy with them more than at any other 
time of the year. 

There are several plants that sometimes bloom even in 
winter, if the season is mild. These plants must of course 
be considered the earliest of flowering shrubs, and bearing, 
as they must at this early season, their flowers before their 
leaves, our attention is naturally given chiefly to their 
flowers. 

The first I call to mind is an old shrub common in many 
unpretending gardens, Jasminuni nmdiforum^ the yellow 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LAWN 



35 



jasmine which a mikl February has often seen in bloom. 
The flowers are yellow, small, and bright, and studded on 
smooth, slender, green stems. It is vigorous and easily 
transplanted, and should lia^^e ;i 2)lace on every lawn, old- 
fashioned thoui2:h it be. The 
yellow Jasmine may occupy very 
suital)lY a position in a group, 
but it also makes a lovely sweet- 
scented plant for early spring 
l)loom, or may be even trained on 
a trellis as a climber. 

At some point near a path or 
near the house, or, best of all, on 
the outskirts of Ithododendron 
Gatatubiense groups, may be used 
an allied and equally aristocratic 
plant, Wiododendron daui'icum. 
Wh)^ aristocratic it may not be 
easy to explain in set terms, for 
the application of such an adjec- 
tive is doubtless fanciful ; yet 
I always feel a certain respect 
that is more than mere admiration for the dignified beauty 
of the rhododendron family. Its members are so excel- 
lent foi' their grand forms and exquisite color that they 
quite cast into the shade the homely though undoubted 
charms of the yellow jasmine. In this case I wish to pay 
my respects to the Ithododendron Dauricum^ a species that 
in England often blooms in midwinter. Even in New 
England a few mild Februaiy days may coax and surprise 




YELLOW JASMINE. 

tjASMINUM NUDIFLORUM.) 



36 SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



_l 



the dark o-lowino; red of its flower into sudden full-blown 
beauty. This rhododendron is quite dwarf in its nature and 
not at all spreading. It is not indeed specially conspicuous 
among its relatives, except for the extreme earliness of its 
flowers. The leaves are small, and not always as lustrous 
as the broad foliage of Wiododendron Catawbiense and 
M. maximum: 

But there are other trees and shrubs not far behind 
this Uliododendron, Dauricum and yellow jasmine. The 
scarlet maple, which we saw a few months since dyed 
during the yearly process of decay with lovely crimson, is 
now scarcely less attractive. Almost before we fairly begin 
to feel that spring is u})on us we note with sudden pleasure 
the bai-e branches of the scarlet maple studded ^vith minute 
I'ed buds over the entii'e tree, literally jewelled with the 
first bursting luxuriance of spring. These leaf-buds are 
accompanied, if not entirely outstripped, by the flowers, a 
common peculiarity of the inflorescence of all early spring, 
blooming plants. The flowers of the scarlet maple are of 
course most noteworthy, and are the special cause of the 
bejewelled appearance of the bi'anches. 

Thus far we have dwelt particularly on the flowers of 
spring, but we must be careful not to forget the equally 
attractive charms of the unfolding leaf. The mysterious 
processes of the early development of the leaf reveal 
exquisite shadings and tints and a marvellous delicacy of 
form seldom to be found in such bright, rich beauty as in 
the budding of this maple. 

Who has not likewise enjoyed the pushing forth of the 
pussies or catkins of willow and alder ? Delightful in their 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN 37 

rich, cool green last fall, Ave find ourselves again iu early 
spring dwelling on the same pleasant leaf colors gradually 
developed, but preceded by the lovely silvery fiower-buds 
known as pussies or catkins. 

There are European alders and several well-known 
American alders that it would be well to employ for their 
charming appearance at this season. Alnus imperialis 
lacmlata, the cut-leaved alder, and Alnus flrma, the Japan 
alder, are also fine in early spring. 

All willows are effective in early spring, but the goat 
willow, Salix caprea, parent of the weeping Kilmarnock 
willow, is particularly noteworthy for attractive early spring 
development. In similar fashion the I'oyal Avillow (Salix 
regalis), the common weeping willow, and the i-osemary 
willow distinguish themselves, furnishing us the delightful 
bits of cool silvery -gray or olive-green color so characteristic 
of much of the foliage of the early daj^s of spring. 

It would seem as if the birch was lovely during every 
hour of the year, for even winter landscapes are greatly 
beautified by the birch's picturesque white stems and 
delicate branching. In spring, however, the soft delicate 
satin sheen of its unfolding leaf-buds are dainty and 
surpassingly beautiful to those who will take the trouble to 
examine their refined charms. For early spring purposes the 
ordinary Amei'ican birches, the canoe birch, and black and 
yellow birches and the common European birch are sufficient. 
The cut-leaved and purple-leaved birches of course stand 
eminent among rare trees for their distinctive beauty. 

While on the subject of attractive early spring foliage, 
we should dwell especially on the larches. The tender soft 



38 SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



shining green of tlieir young foliage is not surpassed in color 
by tlieir leaf clothing of any other season of the year. It 
matters little which larch we take— the vigorous Japan lep- 
tolepsis, or glauca, or the grotesque weeping form, or Da- 
hurica, or even the common European and American species 
or type — their charming spring tints are alike lovely. Larches 
look well and do well in outlying low jjortions of the lawn, 
and are especially valuable for this soft and tender spring- 
time beauty. If planted too near the house, the rusty hue 
of midsummer they present, obtrudes itself unpleasantly on 
the eye. 

The aspen poplar ( Popvliis tremuloides ) also develops . 
beautiful eai'ly unfoldings of the leaf. It is, moreover, almost 
as attractive in form and tint as the alders and birches. 
All this we must rememl)er is embryonic foliage, for early 
spring is properly the season of leaf, buds, and early flowers. 
Indeed, flowers are the crown and charm of spring, just as 
leaves almost exclusively adorn the noteworthy plants of 
midsummer and fall. As a rnle, we have properly no de- 
veloped foliage with early spring effects ; so although dui'ing 
our discussion we have been led, almost unconsciously, into 
dwelling on certain lovely leaf-buds of spring, we will hence- I 
forth devote ourselves conscientiously and exclusively to the 
flowers that constitute spring's special wreath of glory. . 

We have considered one charming yellow flower, Jas- 
oninum nudif,oni/in, but a better and more effective Idoom 
appears almost as early on the long sweeping branches 
of the well-known Forsythia viridinsima or golden bell. 
This shrub graces the dooryard of nearly every home that \ 
attempts to gl•o^v any ornamental plants whatever. Yet its 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN 



39 



fresli bright charms never weary the eye, especially when 
we come to i-ealize its hardy vigor and fitness for ready 
transplanting and its abundant display of flowers. 

There are two or three kinds, bnt viridissima is the 
favorite, with little show of jnstice, for suspensa presents 
more regnlar and attractive curves, 
and is particularly effective on rock- 
work, and Fortunii, an erect form, 
is fine in every way. 

One of the commonest and best 
shrubs that l)loom in these early 
spring days is the Oydonia Ja- 
'poiiica^ the Japan quince. It has 
grown to be a favorite deciduous 
shi'ub, alike in the office of hedge, 
group, or single specimen, and 
proves itself worthy of all its popu- 
larity by its rich bloom, great har- 
diness, and bright green foliage. 
Pi/rus Japonica we used to call it, 
before botanists taught us better, 
and few who enjoy hardy trees 

and shi'ubs at all have failed to note time and again its 
many excellent and lovely qualities. But the blossom, 
its chief and peculiar spring atti'actiou, is not always of 
the glowing brilliant red so familiar to all who have 
known the Pyrus Japonica at all. Red is indeed the 
color of the best-known kinds ; but there are varieties bear- 
ing pinkish-white flowers, and others, like alha mnplex, 
pure white in their loveliness. Others are distinctly striped 




WEEPING GOLDEN BELL. 

(forsythia suspensa.) 



40 SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 




FLOWERING DOGWOOD. 

(CORNUS FLORIDA. ) 



red and white, and still others glow ^vith rich salmon color. 
There is a large-flowered kind recently introduced from 
Japan called Cydonia Japonica grcmidiflora, bearing flowers 
nearly double the size of our common form, with richly 
blended colors of salmon i-ed and white. Do not forget, there- 
fore, to use the different varieties of these Japan quinces. 

The white flowering dogwood ( Coriius Jiorida) should 
stand on every lawn. It is hardy, picturesque in growth, 
and charming in spring with its masses of pare white flow- 
ers, and is, moreover, an Amei'ican shrulj or tree, and there- 
fore deserves employment for American planting. 

There are two oi" three dainty little flowers that come very 
early in spring, before the leaves appear. I dwell on them | 

with special pleasure because 
their beauty is shy and mod- 
est, more like that of the 
violet, and because they af- 
ford a strong contrast to the 
glowing brilliance of the Ja- 
pan quince. BJiodora Cana- 
densis, the choicest of these, | 
is little known except to 
botanists and true plant lov- 
ers, not certainly because 
it is rare, for it grows 
in the woods of New 
England in considerable quantities, and could be trans- 
planted while young with little difllculty. Indeed, I cannot 
account satisfactorily for the neglect of such a l)eautiful and 
abundant native flower. Perhaps like a good many other 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA IVN. 41 



beautiful tliiugs tliat do not iiauut tbeir charms before the 
eye of the passer-by, it lias been simply overlooked. Ex- 
([uisite as all its tints are, they are yet (puet, Quaker-like, 
and almost neutral in effect. The slender stems or branches 
are a delicate drab, and the flowers have that tender violet 
or mauve tint so difficult to describe and yet so charniing 
to dwell on minutely. These flowers 
are luimei'ous and appear early. 
When we light, thei'efore, unex- 
pectedly on a cluster of rhodoras in 
some retired nook, they impress us 
as one of the most exquisite indica- 
tions of settled spring. 

Only less dainty than the rhodora 
is the Daphne Mezerewni^ Ijeariug 
many early small flowers on brown 
erect stems. The color of these 
flowers is also neutral, a violet 
purple, very different and less ex- 
quisite than the rhodora. Very 
different, too, are the leaves. In- 
deed, the entire plant is less choice 
in eveiy way, but, bearing flowers very early, before the 
leaves appear, it forms on the outskirts of deciduous 
groups, or better still, standing alone, a noteworthy feature 
on the lawn. 

Smaller and more exquisite is the Japan Daplme GeJikwa, 
another, but more dwarf, slender-growing shrub, with nu- 
merous long downy t\vigs, which in early spring, before the 
leaves appear, are thickly garnished ^vitll violet-colored 




DOUBLE-FLOWERING APPLE. 

(PYRUS SPECTABILIS.) 



42 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 



1 



tubular Howers rather less than au iucli long. This daphne 
seldom attains a height of more than three feet, and has fine 
delicate foliage. It is one of the moi'e recent valuable in- 
troductions from Japan, and should be planted in angles of 
the house or in similar retired spots \vhere iiuml)ers of it 
can be set out together without being overwhelmed by the 
more striking effect of other plants. 

Almost as early as the plants already mentioned are 
the blossoms of the various fruits, apples, cherries, plums, 
and peaches. In this case, however, I do not refer to the 
simple blossoms familiar to all in dooryard or orchard, but 
to special varieties that have changed — developed — their 
fruit-producing blossoms into larger and more beautiful, 
though sterile flowers. These flowers are variously colored, 
and double the size of the ordinary forms. 




i 



THE DOUBLE-FLOWERING CHERRY, (prunus cerasus, fl. pl.) 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA JVN 



43 



There are several varieties of double-Howeriug apples, 
some Avith blooms more or less shaded witli pink, some red, 
and others Avith leaves variegated. Aiwuhcefolia is an 
instance of the last form, and among the others are 




SOULANGE'S MAGNOLIA, (magnolia soulangeana.) 

coronaria odorata, double pink, double ciiinson, and, above 
all, Malus Halleana and spectabiliH from Japan, with 
flowers of a deep lively i-ose at tlie base, and a lighter 
shade at the edges. This last is unquestionably the most 
ornamental of the double-ilowering apples. The old white 
double-flowering cherry is another early and most charming 
tree, only surpassed in form by the highly-prized weeping 
cherry of Japan, tlie flowers of which, however, are smaller 
and more pink than those of our flowering cherry. Double- 
flowering cherries, [)eaches, and plums are all attractive at 
this season. 

The Japan Judas tree must receive a distinguished 
position among the early spring flowers of any lawn, for 



44 SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 

its long shrubby stems look rich and peculiar at that 
season, wreathed and studded with reddish-purple clinging 
flowers. I 

Of like peculiar habit are the Asiatic magnolias, chief 
among which for early blooming is the Japanese Magnolia I 
stellata, with its delicate white star-like blossoms resting ' 
on firm compact stems. The better-known Chinese mag- 
nolias, corispicua^ Soulangeana, Norhetiana^ and Lennei, are 
each grand in their way, but come later than stellata^ al- 
though still before the leaves appear. Soidangemia is the 
most vigorous and hardy, and best fitted for general ])opu- 
larity, but conspicua is, aftei' all, the magnolia chief and 
peculiar among its race for choice k)eauty. It has not as 
sweet an odor or so dainty a development as J/, stellata^ 
but it is grander and more generally effective in appearance. 
A large tree of M. conspicua is a beautiful sight when 
arrayed in full bloom, especially if there has been, as often 
occurs in April, a light fall of snow. The great white 
regular cups of the flowers cover the entire contour of the 
tree, until as we gaze on it we could fancy, in the absence 
of foliage, we were looking on a white cloud. Snow 
adds greatly to the effect by harmoniously blending with 
the mass of these myriads of flowers. Like many plants, 
however, it is in this peculiar attractiveness of the early 
flower that we. find its ^veakuess. Late frosts sometimes 
catch and destroy the blooms of co?ispicuci, which fact, 
notwithstanding the superior excellence of consp>icua above 
Soulangeana., gives a decided advantage to the latter on 
account of its somewhat later bloom. 

Norhetiana is but a slenderer, smaller foi'm of Soidan- 
geana, with flowers of similar tint and time of blooming. 



;|5^'>.rf 




^^W^frl^ , -..^.^.^^^ ;- j^_^ 



JAPAN WEEPING CHERRY. 



46 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LAWN, 



M, Lennei^ however, is later in flowering, the latest of 
the Chinese magnolias, if we except perhaps the bloom of 
M. 2)urpurea and its variety gracilis, which come about the I 
same time. Lewnei has the inner surface of its petal slightly 
tinted with red, but the outer side is solid, rich, royal 
purple. The flower itself is large, larger than those of any 
of the hardy magnolias, if w^e except possibly tripetala, and, 
of course, the enormous petals of M. macropkylla. 

The lawn planter must not neglect the attractions of J/. 
gracilis. It is, indeed, a variety of M. puipnrea, an Asiatic 

magnolia, by no means hardy 
in America, V)ut its seedling, 
gracilis, is hardier. M. gra- | 
cilis displays on its petals the 
deepest purple of the family. 
It is, moreover, a low shrub 
like M. Halleana (stellata) 
with a comparatively slender 
and more elegant growth. 

Few hardy plants possess 
more noble ornamental quali- 
ties than Asiatic magnolias, 
but it must l)e conceded that 
while young they are some- 
what more liable to injury from 
sudden changes in winter and early spring than some other 
plants. This is a weakness truly, but such excellence is 
surely worthy of a little protection for a fe^v years and 
frequent transplanting in the nursery before permanent 
setting out, in order to secure the fibrous roots necessary to 
successful removal. 




u % - 



JAPANESE MAGNOLIA 

I MAGNOLIA STELLATA.) 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN 



47 



Tlie consicleratioiiof the "weakness of iiiaj^nolius reminds 
us of tlie difficulties in growing tlie early flowering Euro- 
pean tliorns in many sections of tliis country. Notwith- 
standing tlie blight that attacks the thorn, it is easy to find 




ENGLISH HAWTHORN, (crat/egus oxyacantha.) 



enough healthy specimens here and there to warrant our 
employing it in well drained, rich, loamy soil. The early 
and rich-hued blossoms of the thorn give it a charm that 
must always make it welcome as one of our choicest spring 



48 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 




flowers. Bright bark and fresh young budding foliage add 
to the beauty of the flowers, but the flowers are quite sufii- 
cient of themselves to justify the renown for Ijeauty belong- 
ing of old to the ha^v^thorn of England. 

This hawthorn has been improved and improved until 
there are double white varieties, double pink, doulde scarlet, 

double crimson, or 
single flowering scar- 
let, pink, etc., of less 
striking color and 
form. Paul's double 
red stands \^ery high among red haw- 
thorns, and some of the ^vhite flower- 
ing varieties are equally excellent. 
Hawthorns should be planted either 
singly or in groups by themselves. 
Their peculiar habit does not allow 
them to form entirely harmonious re- 
lations with other shrubs in the same 
group. 

I must not forget to mention among 
early-blooming plants the low-growing 
form of Deutzia gracilis^ ]^)iled in May 
with masses of the most lovely small white flowers. 
Florists prize the flowers of the Deutzia gracilis highly for 
forcing, and no more attractive snow-^vhite dainty clusters 
can be found on any of the hardy plants of the lawn. 

Nor must I neglect the licli purple crimson and l)ronze- 
green foliage of Azalea anuena, most showy of veiy dwarf 
shrubs. 







ENGLISH HAWTHORN. 

(CRAT/EGUS OXYACANTHA. I 



* 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 



49 



There is one 2>laiit, also of kindred type, for which I 
must, l)efore conchiding, express my admiration, and that is 
Azalea inolliH. Of comparatively I'ecent inti-oduction from 
Ja})an, it has scarcely as yet gained 
a foothold on American la^vns. At 
first sight one might fancy it a 
superior form of the ordinary l)ut 
choice and lovel}' hybrid American 
or Grhent azalea, which, 
in a genei'al way, it 
B^ dou])tless I'esembles. 

The foliage is simi- 
^k^.i^ lar, and the general ap- 
pearance of the flower, 
at a little distance, of 
like character, but the 
bloom appeal's at least 
h-fi two weeks earlier than 

1*^ that of the Ghent azalea. Moreovei-, on ex- 
amining the flower somewhat nearer, we will 
1^ recognize immediately its superiority to the 
^ ordinary form. The petals ai'e twice the size, as 
large even in some cases as those of the rhodo- 
dendron, and suffused with the most exquisite 
tints of orange, saffron, and crimson. Of the type, 

DEUTZIA GRA- , i • i , i • r> j.1 1 

ciLis. there is scarcely anything as nne on the lawn. 

On beholding the beauty of Azalea mollis the remark 
has been made that the Ghent azalea must be superseded 
by so effective a flower of similar character, but such a 
thing as one good kind entirely superseding another good 

4 






AZALEA MOLLIS 



50 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 



kind does not happen in tlie intelligent practice of lawn 
planting. 

A-zalea mollis l)l()oin8 so early in May tliat late frosts in 
rare instances sncceed in blighting its Leauty, and Avhen 
young the plant itself is sometimes killed ])y very sevei-e I 
winters. Generally, however, the A.zalea mollis is perfectly 
hardy after a little protection for two or three ^^ears. The i 




TREE PEONY. (p>EONlA ARBOREA. ) 

Ghent or American azalea, on the other hand, is one of our 
hardiest deciduous shrubs both in leaf and flo^ver. 

The tree peony should not l)e foi-gotten. It is liardy 
and long-lived, and, unlike the herbaceons [)eony, it has a 
solid bush form. The flowers are splendid in color and 
form, superior to those of the herbaceous kind. 

A word in conclusion should be given the lilacs, or 
syringas. Some of them l)loom profusely and others do 
not, but their flowers seem specially lovely in early spring, 



SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LA WN 



51 



with their delicate purple and white masses. The odor at 
such times perfumes the air delightfully. Lilacs' leaves, 
however, suft'er from scale and ai-e often unhealthy. The 
narrowdeaved Chinese and Persian sorts have been usually, 
in my experience, the healthiest. 

While speaking of 
the double-flowering 
fruit trees I failed to call 
attention to the double- 
flowering almond, which 
is a very different plant M 
from the double-flower- 
ing peach, though nearly 
related. It is d warf with 
slender-growing stem s 
and erect habit, bearing 
in early spring ^vreaths 
and masses of small 
white or pinkish flowers. 
Although an old and 
Avell-known shrub, the 
double-flowering al- 
mond is a gem in its way and has already attained great popu- 
larity. Its flowers belong to the time of spring when the 
Japan quince and Forsythia are in their full glory. Only by 
severe pruning innnediately after the bloom can the flower- 
ing almond be constrained to bloom freely year after yeai". 
In other words, it is a poor plant without pruning, and 
this remark applies to the Foi'sythia and many other 
shrubs. 




COMMON PURPLE LILAC. 

(SYRINGA VULGARIS. ) 



52 SPRING EFFECTS ON THE LAWN 



We Lave thus scanned hastily the cliarniing lineaments 
of our spring buds and flowers, l)ut in by no means sufficient 
detail to realize adequately their special attractions, and 
certainly not enough to secure consideration for all the 
varieties adapted, at this season, for adorning the lawn. 
Scattered singly about the place, or massed each kind by 
itself rather than mixed greatly with other plants, all 
groups of shrubs should contain on the outskirts some of 
these spring flowering plants. 

In a word, there is nothing more important for the f 
fullest enjoyment of the lawn than the continued presence 
of flowers throughout all seasons of spring, summer, and 
autumn, and certainly during no season do ^ve revel in a I' 
fuller sense of gladness in the presence of growing nature 
than during the budding leaves and flowers of spring. 








1 



1 



CHAPTER IV. 




TREES AND SHRUBS FOR JUNE EFFECTS ON 
THE LAWN. 



Doubtless the poet, in dwelling ou 
tlie lovely })riine <>f suiunier days that 
comes in June, saw through his mind's 
eye several component parts that 
made up the charming whole. There 
is one part, however, that forms so 
large an element of the fairest scenes 
of a June day that I shall venture to dwell exclusively ou 
this most interesting feature of their beauty. 

Sky and clouds and sunlight and the songs of birds 
would oft'ei' their delights to the eye with half their l)ounty, 
if vegetation, i.e., grass and trees and shrubs, Avere absent. 
Even the odor of bursting bloom is not only necessary to 
the fullest effect, but we would feel that an important ele- 
ment had been lost if we should miss the scent of summer 
"flowers. More than at any other season of the year, does 
the pleasure of odorous bloom characterize the early days of 
summer, and the number of plants that possess this charm 
in June we shall find by no means small. 

53 



54 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



The very ripe and rounded perfection of ilower and leaf 
enthrals the senses in June. Nature seems now to have 
attained to a deep, i)rofound perfection that, while it com- 
nmnicates rest and peace and absolute satisfaction, does not 
ill any sense enervate. There is nothing slunibei'ous in the l 
air now any more than there was in spring. The senses are 
alert and keyed to the finest enjoyment of all things in the 
heavens above and the earth beneath. We look out on this 
high tide of the year, and with the thought of the Creator 
when these scenes first were born, declare that it is very 
good. 

And of all this, much, as we have seen, is due to trees 
and shrubs, to leaves and flowers. The spring is the time 
of l)udding beauty, whether of^leaf or ilower; the autumn, 
of leaves crimson and green, or bro^vn in final maturity and 
decay ; and summer, late summer, the season of leaves also, 
but of deep rich green, shadowy leaves. 

June, however, and sometimes May even, for the seasons 
move not entirely by returning months, is the time of leaves 
and f Givers. It is the best-dowered portion of the year in 
the way of perfected vegetation. I cannot tell you half of 
its treasures of tinted flowers and exquisite leaf, and will 
therefore only attempt to note briefly the attractions of a 
few of the plants that particularly contribute to the special 
character of these perfect days. 

But what shall I consider first ? It is, indeed, a case of 
positive embarrassment of riches. Perhaps it may be wise to 
look first at the leaves of certain trees, and then to those of 
noteworthy shrubs, and so pass to the crowning effort of 
this gifted time, the flowers of hai-dy trees and shrubs. I 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 55 



would not be tliougbt disregardfiil of the supreme charms 
of hardy herbaceous plants or wild ilowei-s, but trees and 
shrubs must always form the main body of the effect of 
lawn planting, and so, in this chapter I propose to restrict 
myself to the consideration of their peculiar attractions. 

The green leaves of June are solid and rich, and produce 
the main broad effects of foliage in early summer as well as 
later, but the lawn-planter who fails to employ all the 
various coloring of leaf that can be secured so easily for the 
lawn at this season, who neglects to minister in full measure 
to the universal deep enjoyment of color as displayed in 
natural associations of June leaves and flowers neglects one 
half his art. 

First and foremost among the hardy jilauts that minister 
to our enjoyment of color in June are the maples. Not all 
the maples are thus highly gifted. 

The scarlet maple has borne its flowers and early red 
leaf-buds, and now looks merely green, and the silver dasy- 
carpiim has also its usual green color. So likewise the little 
English field maple, and the sugar, the striped, and the broad- 
leaved maple (Acermacj'ophyllum). It is enough, however, 
that we have the sycamore, Norway, ash-leaved, Colchicum 
ruhrum (IcBtum), and above all, the several unequalled 
Japanese maples. The lawn that is ornamented with these 
trees alone has a rich variety of color even without flowers. 

Let us look at these maples. The sycamore (Acer Fseudo- 
Platanns) apparently has its color ready at hand to sport in 
diverse varieties of silver, gold, and reddish purple. Syca- 
more maples, in their simplest type, have red veinings and 
mid-ribs, and especially red leaf stalks. There are several 



56 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 



vai'ietit's of tlicsc n aricgatcd and j)ur|)l('-leaA'e(l sycamores. 
Tlie simple purplc-lt'aAed is oiu^ of tlic most effectiv^e, and 
is spec'ialh' ju'culiar Ixx-auso tlio sti-oiig piii'[)le tin<j;'e is cou- 
lint'd to tlu' uiidci' side of tlie leaf, so that in oi'dcr to do it 
justice it should Ix^ seen uiore or less I'uffled by the wind. |j 
Then thei'e is the silver variegated and golden-tinged varie- 
ties, and a line distinct kind stri[)ed and barred with white 
and red and green. Thert; are otiiei' golden varieties vari- 
ously blotched and suffused with yellow, such as Leopoldii 
or lutescens, and a j^irple-leaved kind more variegated in 
tint than the one generally tei'med purple-lcdPtd^ i\\\i\ whicli 
doubtless is the best variety noteworthy foi' that color. 

.Ml these curiously and richly tinted maples ai'e, however, 
peculiar onl_\' for the short time their I'ich colors continue to 
be striking. They conu^ almost with June, and generally go 
with June, for the heat of midsummer dulls them sooner 
than those of most other trees, although the same heat ^ 
affects unfavorably the abnormal [)urpl(^ and gold color of 'I 
nearly all decidnous leaves. 

Rut to realize the effect of riidi color in June \ve nuist 
tiirn to the \arieties of Norway maple, Acei- j>J(tt(()ioides^ 
and to j>]atan()ides Schwerdleril especially, with its broad j| 
red purple leaves. The leaves of the Noi'way maple, 
in any case, are massive and noble. I'hey are not, perhaps, 
larger than those of the sycamore, but they are nuuv nume- 
rous, ha\e shorter stems, and are piled together in a more 
effective manner. 

The purple Acei' pJitfdiioides Slchwerdleril glows es[)e- 
ciall}' ^^ luMi viewed against strong evening or morning sun- 
light. At such times, its colors literally tiash and sparkle. 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN, 57 



Juncj or lat(i May, again is tlie season to which this maple 
confines the display of its cbarnis. Its size I'esenibles that 
of its parent, tlie comnion Norway maple. Usually, how- 
ever, variegated trees and shrubs are a[)t to Ix* nioi-e dwarf 
than the parent foi'in. Actr Lorlx^iujiix^ aiiothci- i-eddeaved 
Norway maple of considerable value, but less atti'active than 
A. Scliwerdlerii 

I must also mention here one of the most interesting of 
maples, Acer Colvhivum ruhrum, or more pi'operly Acer 
lu'tum., a true Japanese maple, although sometimes supposed 
to couKi from the region of the Caucasus. The great charm 
of this maple lies in the lovely tints of its young growth in 
June. Young ]-ed leaves and leaf-stalks at this season com- 
pletely variegate the tree, while at the same time we behold 
elegant contoui's and refreshing green tints. Otherwise the 
tree is of medium size, and, unfortunately, defective in 
hardness while young in many parts of the United States. 
Acer ColcMcum ruhrtim (lietum) is rare and somewhat 
difficult to propagate, as well as slightly tender, and there- 
fore deserves a position both pi-ominent and protected. 

Maples generally make a most interesting feature in 
June, ^vhether f(jr their young growths of glowing i-ed or 
foi" their refreshing green. T question, indeed, wdiethc the 
lovely colors of June foliage are not more rich and varied 
among maples than in any other genus of hardy trees. 

But of all ma[)les, the most remarkable, the most gifted in 
color, are the Japanese maples. Ever}^ tint of green, gold, sil- 
ver, red, and purple meet and commingle on their elegantly 
and most strangely formed leaves. The many-foi'med Japan- 
ese maple, Acer polymorphum, is positively rainbo\v-dyed 



58 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



with color, but other kinds, like Acer Japonicmn, with its 
fine red fiowers, and A. Japonieum aureum are pei'haps more 
noble \\ith the greater mass and richness of color of their 

leaves. The subtle beauty of 
tint and form amono; these 
maples all combine to I'ender 
them (I am tempted to say) 
the very highest de- 
velopment of ccmplex, 
delicate beauty among 
hardy trees and shrubs. 
And June also is the 
month \vherein we may 
see the most j^erfect 
development of Japan- 
ese maj^les. Later in 
the season their tints 
are liable, like those of 
all variegated-leaved 

JAPANESE MAPLE. phlUtS, tO b e C O Ul 6 

dulled by intense heat. Hot summers and cold winters are 
indeed lial)le to damage them at times. AVe regret to 
acknowledge it, but nevei'theless it is an imdeniable fact. 

Then there are the leaves of the j^urple birch, not only 
noteworthy for their deep purple tints, but also especiall}^ 
effective in combination with the characteristic wkite bark 
of the European birch, of which it is a variety. As a single 
tree this birch is very striking, more so indeed than any 
other purple-leaved tree, except the purple beech, wkich in 
its way stands supreme. 




! 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 59 

The beeches, indeed, are aW facile prlnceiJS among trees, 
both for beauty of color and nobility of form. No trees 
have cleaner-cut and more elegant contours of trunk and 
adjacent branching, and few more symmetry combined with 
picturesqueness. As we look at them, the thought at once 
arises how complete and enduring they look, what a sense 
of reserve power and noble perfection they convey. 

And among them, perhaps among all trees, the purple 
beech stands pre-eminent for broad masses of rich glowing 
leaves in June. If we look at the young growth of the 
pur2:)le beech against the evening or morning sun we shall 
find displayed a peculiarly rich sparkling red, quite inde- 
scribable. The finest tints appear on the outer portions of 
the foliage, where the vsun's magical influence can work 
most effectually. August finds broad, shining masses of 
more or less purple leaves on this beech when view^ed from 
certain directions, but its prime is past for color, although 
it still holds high rank for its other excellent qualities. 

Another interestino; tree for color of foliaoje is the Kijel- 
reutericL Its ornamental value, though much inferior to 
tliat of the purple beech, is considerable on account of the 
warm, sunny tone and peculiar feathery conformation of the 
foliao-e on the outer ends of the branches. 

Among shrubs, a fine dark purple- or red-leaved shrub 
during June is the purple berberry. It is generally ricker- 
colored than most purple-leaved trees and shrubs, but in 
June the color is particularly fine on the new growth. 

Another shrub of as rich color in its way is the dwarf 
variegated-leaved Weigelia. Both have rich, pure golden 
tints, but the dwai'f vai'ieo-ated Wflgeh'a is the most useful 



60 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



for lawii-plaiitiiig, because it forms one of the limited class 
of shrubs suited for occupying the outskirts of shrub- 
groups, or some limited space where low, compact-growing 
plants are specially valuable. It is a thrifty, vigorous 
shrub, well known, and deservedly popular. 

The purple hazel shows very rich colors in June. .^t 
leaves are deep purple, as deep as those of the purple l)eech, 
but it is more straggling in habit than the purple bee^^- id 
otherwise less attractive, although a valuable ornamental 
slirub. Its main fault is a tendency to winterdvill at the 
tips, but the effect of this is to dwart the plant rather than 
to do it any other harm. 

And thus you have briefly, and with scant justice I con- 
fess, a rapid survey of the best purple- and variegated- 
leaved trees and shrubs specially effective in June. It 
is my desire to gain by means of this consideration a 
greater and more enthusiastic regard for the rich, subtle 
tints of the leaves of trees and shrubs, whether used singly 
or in groups, and certainly nothing can illustrate better 
these wonderful colors of hardy plants than the phases 
presented in June by the trees and shrubs just mentioned. 

Let us turn no^\' to the flowei's of trees and shrul^s in 
June. They make in truth the crown and summit of 
nature's summer efforts. Full, fresh vigor at this high tide 
of the year intensifies the loveliness of all vegetation, but 
flowers are specially lovely now, both for numbers and de- 
lightful color and odor. How and where shall I begin '\ 
It would seem actually as if all flowei's bloomed at this 
season, and one might easily construct a most attractive 
lawn of exclusively June flowering plants. 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 



61 



Very numerous aud distinguished are the flowering 

shrubs of June, but the more noteworthy trees perhaps 

should have our first attention. If the horse-chestnut were 

as fine in August as June, it is possible we might deem it 

able an ornamental tree as the Norway maple or 

»ie beech. In addition to finely rounded contours and 




HORSE-CHESTNUT TREES, CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK. 

broad light-green foliage, the hoi-se-chestnut has conspicuous 
flowers in May, which few hardy tiees have at any 
time of the year. And what lovely flowers the horse- 
chestnut has I There are many varieties distinguished by 
either peculiar leaves or flowers shaded with various de- 
grees of white and pink, but perhaps the finest of all is the 
red-flowerinof hoi'se-chestnut. The odor (Jf the flower is not. 



62 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WA\ 



ill an\' of the varieties, specially attractive, but the color of 
the I'ich red liowers is very l^eautiful, particularly if the hue 

of the leaf is litrht-gold, like several 
varieties that are l>y no means rare. 
Indeed, few nioi'e attractive objects 
can l)e seen on the lawn than a I'ed- 
flowerinsi; horse-chestnut in full 
bloom, and its beauty is specially 
peculiar to the montlis of 
May and June. 

The catalpa should 1 )e men- 
tioned (loul)tless foi' its large 
purple flowers in fluly. These 
ilowers grow in spikes and 
are attractive. It is a hardy, 
laro'e-leaved tree, but stras;- 
gling and irregular in appearance. 

Among summer-flowering trees, 
however, if nt)t among summer- 
flowering shrubs, the Avhite fringe ( ChionantJius lirginicaj 
stands almost pi'e-eminent, whether we view it as a shrub 
or tree. The foliage, to begin with, is l)road, solid, and 
lustrous, rich enough to make the fortune t)f any oi'dinary 
plant. Yet in June we forget this attractive foliage as we 
lose ourselves in admiration of the cloud-like mass of fleecy 
flowers, which, examined closely, seems veritable lace of the 
most delicate texture. So numerous are these flowers that 
I have seen a specimen of white fringe stand out against a 
background of dark evergreens like a pure white cloud 
attached to the OTeeusvvard. The fi'ins^e-tree is choice, 




RED-FLOWERINQ HORSE-CHESTNUT 
/ESCULUS RUBICUNDA. 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 



63 



and by no means eummoii, tbougb a well-known plant. It 
behaves well during the most trying vicissitudes, whether 
of winter or of transplanting. It needs little or no pruning, 
and should occu})y the most distinguished 
positions on the lawn. 

The laburnum is a lovely tree of medium 
size, with June flowers of exceeding beauty, 
long clusters of yello\\' blossoms, which 
often sport remai-kably in color, turning 
sometimes to a deep purple. There are 
several varieties of l)oth the Scotch and 
common labui'num, but they resemble 
each other nuicli, and what differences 
do exist are somewhat difficult to defii 
in words that would be in- 
telligible to the ordinaiy 
reader. The laburnum can 
hardly ever l)e a popular 
tree throuorhout America, 
for it suffers from blio;ht in 
many sections to a degree 
that is discouraging to the 
lawn-plantei". 

Man}^ trees have such 
beauty of foliage in June 
as to fairly overshadow 
the attractions of the flowers. The tulip ti'ee ( Lirioden- 
dron Tulipifera) is a notalole instance of this peculiarity. 
Notwithstandino; its flowers are so curiously and finely 
formed and tinted, we scarcely notice them at first glance 




WHITE-FLOWERINQ HORSE-CHESTNUT. 

'/ESCULUS RUBICUNDA. ) 



64 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 




buried as they are among the broad, glistening and beautiful 
leaves. These flowers bear a distinct resemblance to those 

of the bulbous tulip, and 
cannot therefore be other 
than interesting. 

But let us turn again 
to one of the most impor- 
tant families of flowering 
plants to be seen upon the 
lawn. I ]'efer to the mag- 
nolias. Few genera show 
bloom, by means of one or 
other of their varieties, as 
long as the magnolias. 
From mid- April to mid- 
summer we fail not to have ' 
beautiful flowers on some one of these plants. In June we 
have at least eight or ten species and varieties presenting their 
full glory of inflorescence. Old familiar forms are hei'e, as f 
well as one or two as ]-ai"e as any plant to be found on the 
choicest lawn. Nothing should l)e more familiar among trees 
than the cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata)^ but its i 
flowers in June are of moderate size and somewhat in- I 
significant in appearance with their greenish-yellow tints, 

A much finer variety than M. acuminata is M. cordata, 
an American tree not very unlike the cucumber tree, but 
far more choice and uncommon. It has a fine pyramidal 
shape, and a comparatively small heart-shaped leaf, whence 
the name. Magnolia cordata is a strangel}^ disregarded 
ornamental ])lant, exhibiting one of those curious in- 



CHIONANTHUS VIRQINICA. 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 65 

stances of the neglect witli whicli we treat our finest native 
trees. 

A better and more widely known June flowering mag- 
nolia is M. glauca, the common, sweet-scented, white swamp 
magnolia often sold by boys in our railroad cars. Of all 
the better-known magnolias, whether American or Asiatic, 
this has by far the sweetest scent. It is a comparatively 
low-growing shrub, however, and bears numerous flowers, 
therein differing greatly from most other summer-blooming 
magnolias. 

There are two or three interesting varieties of Magnolia 
glaiica., such as M. Thompsonia/na and longifolia. The 
first is remarkable for its sweet odor, and the latter for long, 
ornamental leaves, and also for a harder nature than J\f. 
Thompsoniana, which is sometimes lacking in this respect. 
M. glci'tbca is generally quite hardy, although I have known 
winters severe enough to nip its young growth, especially 
if that young growth was not sufiiciently matured duj'ing 
the previous fall. 

But of all American deciduous magnolias, the most 
noteworthy is the great Magnolia nuKyrophylla with large 
leaves two feet in length, and so like in size and general 
aspect to those of the palm of the tropics, that scarcely any 
other hardy tree of the North suggests Oriental vigor in the 
same de2:ree. Amid these huo-e broad leaves, we find o^reat 
cup-like flowers, which are curiously monstrous, rather than 
beautiful. A foot wide the white petals extend, and the 
cup in the centre would hold nectar for the quafiiing of gods 
rather than fairies, who are usually credited with using 
flowers for chalices. It is to be regretted that this great 



66 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 

striking flower dispenses a distinctly disagreeable odor, 
otherwise it would be a tree of specially excellent orna- 
mental qualities. 

Magnolia trifpetala^ likewise blooms in late May and 
early June in its home in America. Except Magnolia maxiro- 
])hylla, there is no larger-leaved native magnolia than 
tripetala, hence the common name umbrella magnolia. 
This large foliage lends a grand aspect to a well-grown 
specimen of Magnolia tripetala, and in other ways it proves 
itself much superior to M. acuminata. The flowers are 
creamy or yellowish-white in coloi-, rather than greenish- 
white like those oi M. acuminata. 

Turning to the Asiatic magnolias, we And several other 
varieties that bloom finely in June. There are one or two 
late-blooming Asiatic varieties, that, long known in this 
country, have failed to make a favorable impression because, 
like M. Kolnis, for instance, they bloom seldom and sparsely 
and only in late maturity. Two recently introduced mag- 
nolias are, however, free fi'oni all such objections, and have, 
besides, very decided advantages peculiar to themselves. 

They are termed respectively M. liypolenca and M. 
parvijiora., or Watsonii, and are rare. We have seen already 
that few summer-blooming magnolias have flowers that will 
bear comparison with many other blossoms of June ; hence 
the two magnolias, liypoleuca and parviflora., become doubly 
valuable on account of the late season at which their 
flowers appear. 

Let us look at them a moment. They impress us as 
noble trees, not as shrubs, bearing in this way a certain 
resemblance to M. tripetala. The foliage of M. liypoleuca 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 67 



is more like that of tripetala than perhaps any other 
magnolia, although it has also a fine distinct character of its 
own. Of a bright silver on tlie under side of tlie leaf, 
Avhence the name Jiypoleuca, the beauty of the foliage is 
made still niore attractive by a distinct fiush of red per- 
vading the leaf stem, mid-ril), and even the more complex 
veiuiug of the leaf. Held up against the liglit the 
api^earance of this leaf is fine, but the flower, nevertheless, 
forms the chief attraction of this as well as of all other 
magn(^lias. It blooms in June, is large and milk-white, and 
above all is very sweet-scented, qualities that would render 
valuable any flower, but joined to the other characteristic 
ti'aits of the magnolia they become doubly precious. 

A¥hen the J/, liypoleuca was first seen in this coimtry, 
it was l)elieved tliat the highest development in the way 
of a June-flowering magnolia had been obtained, but this 
proved not to be the case. Magnolia pannjiora has shown 
itself, even during the short time it has been introduced, the 
gem of the entire collection of magnolias ; finer, perhaps, 
in the sense of comliining the greatest number of excellent 
qualities, and certainly much the best for the exquisite 
character of its odoi*. 

In a greenhouse one hundred feet long, the scent of the 
flowers borne on a young plant of this magnolia is delight- 
fully apparent throughout the entire length of the building. 
Magnolia hypoleuca has certainly a delightful odor.^ but this 
odor of M. parviflora is more pungent, more delicious 
and subtle. The petals and their arrangement suggest 
those of M. glauca., but they, as well as the leaves and 
entire plant, are much larger, and the centi-e of the flower 



68 



yUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 



acquires far greater beauty from a deep-crimson flush that 
suffuses the very curious and formal arrangement of pistils 
and stamens. This arrangement and color give the flower 
the appearance of having a deep-red heart. The foliage 
and general habit of M. parvijiora is neat and thrifty. 

The purple fringe, Witts cotinus, although somewhat in- 
ferior to the white fringe in general characteristics, and to 
which, indeed, it bears no relation except in name, is exqui- 
sitely subtle and lovely in the coloring of its flowers. These 
flowers come in June and envelop the entire bush or tree 
in rosy-]3urple, rounded masses of soft, fleecy clouds. It is 
well-named the smoke tree, for I know nothing to which 
the disposition and coloring of its small, numerous flowers 
can be more aptly compared than a mass of smoke suffused j 
and penetrated with sunlight. 

On first turning to the consideration of summer- 
flowering plants, we are 
at once attracted to the 
most splendidly gifted 
of the entire class, viz. : 
Rhododendrons and 
hardy azaleas. They • 
seem intended to be 
grouped together and j 
are usually employed 
in that way. The azalea 
is, in every way, smaller 
than the rhododendron, 
and when planted on the outskirts of a group of the latter, 
shade off harmoniously the outline of a mass of the former^ 




RHODODENDRON. 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



m 




PINXTER FLOWER. 

(azalea NUDIFLORA. I 



The flowers also of these two shrubs serve to perfect 
each other when associated together. One, the rhododen- 
dron, is splendid, glowing 
and complex in detail ; the 
other, choice, exquisite, sim- 
pler in form, and yet most 
subtly and richly tinted. It 
is difficult to decide on the 
comparative excellence of 
their beauties, because these 
beauties are so individual 
and different. For the I'ho- 
dodendron, we can say it 
has more effective, shining evergreen foliage, l)ut on the 
othei" hand, the hardy azalea endures more steadfastly win- 
ter and summer vicissitudes. 
Such plants as these 
should be employed in fa- 
vored nooks, on a hillside, 
if possible, where the eye 
may look down upon their 
charms. The employment 
of both of these attractive 
plants is rapidly becoming 
an actual necessity to the 
well-ordered lawn. 

Nor does the fact that the 
rhododendron occasionally 
suffers from sudden changes, both in summer and winter, 
seriously check its growing popularity. Many, in fact, are 




BROAD LEAVED LAUREL. 
(kalmia LATIFOUA. I 



70 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 

already learning that a little protection by planting in the 
lee of other trees, and a practical consideration of the pedi- 
gree of the variety used, considered with regard to the more 
or less hardy nature of its ancestors, will secure general 
results of the most satisfactory character. Azalea nudi- 
flora is a good example of this genuine American plant 
of the azalea type. 

In this connection, however, I must not fail to offer meet 
tribute to the excellent beauty of the common laurel of 
the American woods, Kalrriia latifolia. While its flowers, 
perhaps, are not as splendid in form and mass as those of the 
rhododendron, nor as varied and subtle in coloring as those 
of the hardy azalea, the curious, quaint construction of its 
flower-cup is yet quite as distinguished in its way for its 
exquisite daintiness and charming symmetry. It surpasses 
the rhododendron, moreover, in hardiness, and possesses the 
attraction of comparatively large evergreen leaves, which 
the deciduous hardy azalea does not possess. When grown 
in the nursery, L e., transplanted now and then, the I^ahnia 
latifolia may be readily moved at any age, but to tear old 
plants from their native haunts in woodland nooks and 
plant them successfully on the lawn, has been repeatedly 
proved to be a diflicult operation. 

As we give our attention more closely to deciduous 
shrubs, we are impressed by the number of specially note- 
worthy genera that distinguish themselves in June either by 
their foliage or their flowers. What a lovely group, for 
instance, are the various June-blooming spireas. 

There were, as w^e remember, fine spring-flowering spi- 
reas like S. Thunhergii., but how lovely, also, are June 



\ 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 71 

flowering S. Reevemana^fl. pi. and 8. trilohata, a similar but 
still more attractive species. The branches of these spireas 
hang during June in the most graceful curves studded to 
their very tips with lovely rosettes of pure white flowers. 

Then there is 8. prunifolia witli upi-ight habit, neat, 
bright green leaves and numerous white flowers coming in 
late May oftener than in Jime. E.ed-flowering S. Fortunei 
and Fortunei macropJiylla and Icevigata are also June-flower- 
ing, while among other kinds blooming in the same month 
may be noted the choice and delicate little spireas hella and 
aricEfolia and the more common-looking and larger-growing 
charmedrifolia, nepalensis, and ulmifolia. 

One of the most striking of all spireas on the lawn, 
however, is the June-flowering S. opidifolia aurea. The 
leaves of 8. opulifolia aurea are broader and larger than 
those of any other spirea, which is generally a small-leaved 
race, and the colors, especially at this season, are delicate 
shades of gold. Indeed so effective is this golden color 
that had the white flowers studding the entire stem been 
less lovely I would have classed it among the golden- and 
purple-leaved plants. If we add to these qualities excep- 
tional vigor and hardiness, it will be readily seen that 8. 
opulifolia aurea is a shrub peculiarly adapted to lawn 
planting. Indeed the general habit and the flowers render 
the common type opidifolia almost as fine as the golden 
variety. 

But I must not linger on these interesting spireas too 
long, while there are other interesting June-flowering 
shrubs waiting to claim our attention. Every well-planted 
lawn must have some Philadelphuses or mock oranges, with 



72 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



June flowers like veritable orange blossoms, Philadd- 
phus coronarkis is the most sweet-sceuted and in other 
jr^ ^ ways the best variety, although gmn- 



diflorus, laxus, speciosus, etc., are larger 
and more easily propagated. There 
is a fine dwarf golden Philadelphus 
that does not receive the attention it 
should. 

A well-known June-flowering ge- 
nus of shrub is the Deutzia, not 
Deutzia gracilis only, but Deuizia 
crenata, fi. p/., a Japan plant, strong- 
growing, and bear- 
ing masses of attrac- 
tive pinkish-white flowers, 
and also the smaller D. 
scabra, fl. pi. Th ere 
are also Deutzias 
ftnDr.r.M,o .,r.r„. For'tunei. crenata and 

GORDON'S MOCK ORANGE. ' 

(PH.LADELPHUS GORDONiANus.) scobva, both iutercst- 
ing, hardy, ra^^id-growing shrubs. 
The vigorous bright-green bush 
honeysuckles are also attractive in 
June, with the red and white 
flowers of Tartarica^ the white of 
excellent drooping fragrantissima^ 
and the yellow and yellowish-red of 
xylosteum, jiexuosa, and Ledebourii. 

The sweet-scented shrubs Calycanthus floridus and 
C. IcBvigatus likewise offer the spicy fragrance of their 





DEUTZIA CRENATA, FL. PL. 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



73 





EXOCHORDA GRANDIFLORA. 



chocolate-brown buds and broad j'ich foliage. These are 

choice shrubs and can scarcely be used too much in the 

salient points of shrub groups. 

ExocJiorda grandijlora should have 

been mentioned perhaps among the 

spireas, where it properly belongs, but 

it is so different in every way, so 
sj^ecially suited to 
distinct single posi- 
tions, that I have 
ventured to consider 
it apart from the 

other varieties. Few shrubs are more 
difficult to propagate than this spirea, 
hence its reputation for rarity and choice- 



ness. But aside 
from these (quali- 
ties the leaves and 
flowers of this 
plant are very at- 
tractive, the leaves 
for their light 
green, slightly 
bluish tint, and 
the flowers foi- 
their number and 
pure white color, 
w o n d e r f u 1 1 y 



YELLOW JAPANESE 
KEBRIA. 

(kerria japonica.) 




SWEET-SCENTED SHRUB. 

ICALYCANTHUS FLORIDUS.) 



bright and effective in mass. The genei-al habit of the 
plant is broad, bushy, and vigorous. In this climate the 



74 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



flowers appear iu late May aud early June. The pretty, 
small-leaved Kerria Japonica also bears attractive yellow 
flowers iu June and makes an interesting shrub on the 
outskirts of shrub })lantations. 

Among the large shrubs specially suited to the centre of 
a mass of deciduous foliage are the Weigelias or Diervillas. 
They are ra2:)id-growing, bearing abun- 
dant leaves and flowers, and are genei'ally 
popular. They form one of our staple 
plants for the construction of any group 
of shrubs. Some of the Weigelias bear 
light-red aud othei's striped flowers. 
Weigelia rosea is justly considered one 
of the best kinds. 

Among the most attractive of June- 
flowering shrubs is Tamarix Africana. 
There are one or two other kinds that 
bloom during this month, but none 
better than T. Africana. The charac- 
teristic feathery habit aud great vigor 
of the tamarisks renders Africana 
specially valuable in a group of shrubs 
where variety of form aud beauty of 
flower are desired. There are several 

RED FLOWERING WEIGELIA. , , , . . , , ry n - 

(WEIGELIA ROSEA.) 1 atc- bloomiug tamarisks, sucn as (jratlica 

and Indica, which makes this June-flowering Africana 
particularly valuable. Priming is absolutely essential to 
keep the lanky growth of tamarisks in subjection. 

We come now to a very noteworthy genus among June- 
flowerins; shrubs. The snowball or viburnum genus is a 




JUNE EFFECTS ON THE L4WN, 



75 



large one, but only half a dozen hardy varieties are 
thoroughly well suited to lawn planting. The common 
snowball ( Viharnum opulus) is, perhaps, one of the most 
generally useful on the lawn, because it is line, singly or in 
mass. It grows vigorously, and is broad, and bears numer- 
ous balls of snow-white blossoms. The only serious fault it 
has is an openness 
of foliage, or naked- 
ness of stem that 
makes it less effec- 
tive when planted 
singly than it would 
otherwise be. 

As a June-flower- 
ing viburnum, how- 
ever, there is nothing 
like the Japan snow- 
ball ( Vihurwwm pli- 
catutn\ already spo- 
ken of in the hic^h- 
est terms elsewhere. 
Dark green and glos- 
sy leaves, crinkled and compact, especially if well pruned, 
and large white balls of flowers, persistently retained on 
the plant for weeks, are, as we have also seen, its distiu- 
guishing characteristics. Good Judges have commended 
this plant as in many senses the best of deciduous shrubs. 

Another June-flo^vering shrub of considerable merit 
should not be neglected. Lyckmiharharimi, etc., is an old 
plant, but very pretty, especially when trailing over rock- 




VIBURNUM OPULUS. 



76 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 



work. The flowers are small and of a purple or violet color. 
Many of these fine old hardy plants are in danger of being 
forgotten in the rush for new and rare varieties. 

A special glory of June, a glory entirely unequalled 
in its way at any other time of the year, is found in the 
several genera of hardy climbing vines. Many of them are, 
of course, familiar to the reader, and 23robably none more 
so than the honeysuckles. They make a numerous family 

of varieties, with thick, 
glossy green leaves 
and abundant sweet- 
scented flowers. The 
Belgian, or striped 
monthly, red and 
white, is perhaps at 
once best known and 
most generally popu- 
lar. Canadensis is pink 
and straw color, with 
the straw color pre- 
dominating. One of 
the best yellow ones, 
indeed one of the best 
of all honeysuckles, is. 
Halleana from Japan. 
This variety is ever- 
green to a very consid- 
erable degi-ee, which 
much increases its value. Then in June there are lovely 
clematises, that love to climb over stumps or on a screen or 




FOUR GOOD CLEMATISES. 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 77 



trellis of wood. The prevailing colors of the Jime-blooming 
types are purple and white, and these colors are of the 
purest, richest tint. Open-petalled, large, sometimes ten 
inches in diameter, star-shaped, these flowers gather in close 
masses among small, inconspicuous leaves. The best per- 
hajjs is Jach7nanii, for free blooming and general hardi- 
ness, but there are excellent varieties among the lighter- 
colored lanuginosa and pateiis type. All these June 
clematises should be pruned after they have finished flower- 
ing, so as to secure a vigorous growth and bloom for the 
following year. 

The curious and rare Japan climbing hydrangea also is 
a June-flowering vine. It has dark-green, long-stalked, 
cordate leaves, sharply toothed, and Avhite hydrangea-like 
flowers in loose clusters. Like ivy, it throws out multi- 
tudes of rootlets, and clings well to stonework. 

During some 
seasons the Wis- 
taria is a June- 
flowering vine, 
but whether it 
blooms in May or June, its 
grape-like clusters of purple 
flowers, piled among picturesque 
and tossing masses of light-green 
leaves and tendrils, are always 
beautiful. There is a beautiful 
white variety that is particularly 

effective. The two colors may be finely contrasted by 
setting out the two kinds near each other and letting 




78 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 

their growths mingle. The illustration on the opposite page 
shows an arbor in Central Park covered with Wistaria that 
always exhibits the flowers with excellent effect. 

Nor should we pass unnoticed on this occasion the sum- 
mer charms of the two best climbing roses, Baltimore Belle 
and Queen of the Prairies. There are other excellent 
varieties of climbing roses, but they do not surpass, and 
hardly supplement, the excellent qualities of these two well- 
known kinds. 

Pages might l^e profitably devoted to the consideration 
of the June-flowering qualities of hai'dy roses generally, of 
the Gen. Jacqueminots, Baronne Prevosts, Mad. Plautiers, 
and a thousand others, but in the brief way in which we 
are studying June lawns, we can afford to simply touch on 
the employment of roses as a class. To their magnificent 
tints and forms no pen can do adequate justice, and their 
excellence has moreover become a household word. We 
may profitably, however, devote a few lines to some brief 
suggestions for the development of the most abundant and 
best rose blooms, and for the disposition of rose bushes on 
the lawn. 

In the first place, to get the best roses, the soil where 
the plant is grown should be a rich sandy loam and not 
clay, and then the old growth of last year should always be 
cut back almost to the ground, oi-, if the plant is already 
old, almost to the main stem. K-ose bugs and blight are apt 
to make rose bushes, unless carefully tended, somewhat 
unsightly objects on the lawn in spite of their grand 
flowers. Of course this need not be so, but we should 
recognize the danger squarely, and if we cannot be sure of 



80 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 

giving our roses the right amount and kind of attention, at 
least we should plant them in retired nooks in tlie shelter- 
ing skirts of other plantations. 

The Rosa rugosa from Japan, however, is an exception to 
this I'ule, as its leaves are entirely healthy and hardy in all 
exposures. The leaves are dark-green, crinkled, and attrac- 
tive, the flowers single, wliich is for me an advantage, and 
the fruit large and showy. It is, in a word, one of the most 
ornamental shrubs for the lawn. 

Up to this point we have been considering hardy 
deciduous plants, properly so-called, and perhaps as regards 
their forming any distinctive feature of June we would be 
hardly justified in mentioning evergreens at all, if it were not 
for the exquisite young growth of some particular varieties. 

Let us then note a few leading varieties of evergreens 
that exhibit this peculiarity. All hemlocks are lovely in 
their soft, young growth, and delicate tendrils of June, but 
there is a variegated form that is touched all over at this 
season with lighter shades on the young growth in a very 
attractive manner. This variegation differs in perfection a 
good deal from year to year. The young growth of most 
spruces is also fine, and specially noteworthy on the dwarf er 
forms, such as Gregory's dwarf ( Picea excelsa Gregoriana). 
An extremely dwarf American Ijlack spruce has likewise 
pleasing tints on its young growth, but its form is so strik- 
ing, that this beauty of the young growth is overlooked in 
contemplating the compact masses of this most eccentric of 
evergreens. There is a variety of the American white 
spruce (Picea alha) called Grlory of the Spruces, which 
has a warm golden tint in the midst of its young green. 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA VVN. 



81 



Perhaps, however, the most extraordinary spruce in 
June is the tiger-tail spruce ( Picea polita) from Japan. 
And its name seems not inaptly given as we note the 




JAPAN RAMANAS ROSE. 
(rosa rugosa rubra.) 



enlarged bright golden tips of the branches bursting torth 
from the enveloping leaf-bud. The general appearance of 
this evergreen is sturdy, stiff, and intensely individual as 

6 



82 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 

well as dwarf and enduring. In color it is generally light 
greenish-yellow, but the color becomes deepened at the tips, 
and is changed still more by contrast with the reddish- 
brown envelopes or scales of the leaf-buds dropping off 
now fi'om one branch aud now from another at this season. 

In June we do not look among the arbor vitcBs, whether 
Asiatic or American, nor among the so-called cypresses of 
Jajjan ( Retinosi^oras ) for any loveliness of tint peculiar to 
that season. The junipers, silver firs, and several of the 
pines on the other hand are peculiarly and supremely beau- 
tiful at this season. To begin with, few evergreens can 
show more beauty than is found on the young growth of 
our common Canadian juniper (Juniperus Canadensis). 
Its low, solid masses are thoroughly penetrated by light 
soft shades, and where the plant chances to stand among a 
lot of distinct evergreens the effect is still more striking. 
Of a similar light tint is Juniperus ohlonga pendula., the 
true weeping juniper, and a native of Armenia. It is not 
altogether hardy. 

Then what can be finer than the lovely light green 
shades of the Irish and Swedish junipers. Such picturesque 
forms and lovely colors would be invaluable for lawn 
planting if they were only possessed of hardiness and 
adaptability to light dry soil. The bluest of evergreens, 
(Tuniperus Virginiaria glauca and Juniperus venusta^ have 
also specially lovely June tints. 

Not many of the pines are particularly remarkable in 
June. Perhaps Pinus excelsa, the Bhotan pine, is most 
noteworthy at that season, although the dwarf Scotch is 
decidedly attractive in its early coat of fresh green. Pinus 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 83 

monspeliensis is also fine in June, as well as Mngho and the 
dwarf white pine. 

But the finest of all evergreens, I am tempted to say, 
certainly the finest of all evergreens in June, are some of 
the silver firs. Nearly all of them are remarkable, but 
chief among them stand Nordmann's fir, the Grecian 
(Abies Cilicica), and the noble silver fir (A. nohilisj. 

Nordmann's is at all seasons unsurpassed for grandeur, 
and now the light, fresh young foliage checkers the tree all 
over in the most delightful manner imaginable. 

The Grecian silver fir starts earlier, and is most remark- 
able of all for an early coating of the lovely young growth 
peculiar to the silver firs. 

Abies Pichta., the Siberian silver fir has also voluminous 
young growth, and it is 
remarkable among all 
evergreens for a soft, 
silky texture which 
is delightful to the 
touch. 

Many think Abies 
nobilis the finest of 
evergreens, and for 
exquisite richness of 
blue coloring and 
picturesque masses it 
is, indeed, almost un- 
rivalled. Otherwise it lacks the o-randeur of outline and 
great hardiness of the Nordmanu's silver fir. It is not 
unimportant to note here that Abies nobilis displays much 




NOBLE SILVER FIR. 

( ABIES NOBILIS.) 



84 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 

variety of coloring and conformation on individual speci- 
mens, hence it follows that careful selection of the best 
varieties and their strict perpetuation by grafting become 
important to the lawn planter. 

The Cephalouian fir, Abies CepTialonica, is another at- 
tractive evergreen in June, although now and then it 
suffers fi'om hard winters. 

Abies Parsoniana or lasiocarpa is one of the rarest and 
finest species of the genus, and its long, curled, light- 
colored leaves assume the richest hues in early summer. 

Abies concolor is another excellent and similar ever- 
green. 

It is an important fact to remember that systematic 
pruning of both the leader or topmost twig and of the 
side branches of these silver firs tends greatly to develop 
the beautiful June growth on every part of the tree. It is 
not well, however, to continue this pinching too long or too 
frequently, for the tree may thus come to lose the essential 
characteristic form of the species or variety. 

Very attractive also are the early tints of the dark and 
extremely attractive dwarf Hudson's Bay fir, as well as 
those of the neat and elegant Abies pectinata compacta. 
These last-named forms may be classed among the hardiest 
of evergreens. Turning to several evergreens which are 
almost unknown on the lawn and that are at the same time 
attractive in June, we find the hardy form of Abies DouglasU 
or pseudotsuga Douglasii. The particular variety of the 
Douglas spruce generally employed has been found some- 
what tender in the Eastern or Atlantic States, apparently 
because most specimens have been brought from the lower 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN 85 

portions of the coast ranges of California. The Colorado 
form, however, proves perfectly hardy and is not only at- 
tractive to the eye in June, but is deliciously resinous in 
odor. There is Si pseitdotsuga Sieholdii, fi'oni Japan, which 
is also beautiful in June. The blue s[)ruce of the Rocky 
Mountains ( Picea 'pungent) is perhaps the richest and 
bluest of evergreens at this season, and has also the high 
merit of being hardy and vigorous. 

But after extolling the beauties of all these evergreens 
in June, we must turn for the finest evergreen effect in 
summer to the golden yew. Later its colors are more or 
less dulled, in comparison, and sometimes it is even browned 
in winter, though scarcely ever actually killed, but now, in 
June, its deep, rich gold is fairly luminous in its glow of 
young life. The golden yew bears patiently any amount 
of pruning, and may be and is continually distorted by 
pruning into the most artificial forms. There is a silver- 
tinted variety of the same English yew ( Taxus haccata) 
of which the golden is also a variety, but it is hardly as 
distinct and striking. It is called T. h. elegmitissima ; 
why, I cannot say, unless silver may be termed more 
elegant than gold. It is difficult to do justice to either of 
these last-named evergreens as they appear in late May or 
early June. The variety and freshness of tint as contrasted 
in broadly pervading masses with the darker shades of the 
mature growth really defy description, while they make 
decidedly one of the most charming features of the lawn in 
early summer. The Irish yew is not always hardy, but it 
is striking and distinct. 

In looking over this brief review of the most prominent 



86 JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LAWN. 

and characteristic beauties of the lawn in June, I am 
impressed with the insufficient justice done their loveliness, 
but I am also consoled at my evident failure by the con- 
sciousness that no ordinary pen will suffice to convey an 
adequate idea of their subtle charm. 

For instance, of the fresh, early summer growths of many 
trees we can say little more than they are dark green ; but 
how poorly such terms express their delicate gradations of 
color, soft, glistening, and wonderful. Look at that weep- 
ing beech ! What words can describe the soft, tender, 
gleaming color of its young foliage. And so it is with a 
hundred other trees, the charms of which at this season 
meet us at every turn on many lawns. 

With the knowledge of such lawn-jjlanting riches easily 
attainable by almost every one, is it strange that some 
countries deem no time and labor too o;reat to secure that 
utmost vigor of early growth which can alone produce the 
highest perfection of June flowers and foliage ? Is it not 
more strange that we in America, with our favorable soil 
and climate and enterprise and regard for all lovely things, 
.do not seek more to employ the lawn-planting beauties at 
our command ? Perhaps we have been hitherto occupied 
too much with the engrossing duties of a young nation 
to look to the permanent adornment of home. 

Our increased intercourse with Euro23e however has been 
teaching us much of late, and Ave are learning not only that 
we should do more artistic lawn planting, but that we 
cannot conform ourselves servilely to European horticul- 
tural standards. After much failure in trying to get some- 
thing else, we are attaining to the conviction that we must 



JUNE EFFECTS ON THE LA WN. 87 

have genuiue Americau lawns adorned with only such 
plants as suit the special conditions of the country and 
locality. 

We are learning that because an English or Scotch 
gardener tells us w^e should have a particular tree which he 
has grown successfully in England, we are not necessarily 
to assume that horticultural skill, whether Scotch, or Eng- 
lish, or French, must be able to compass, in some occult 
way, its successful employment on American lawns. 

Just as we are developing with active enthusiasm home 
art in our interior, so we are gaining an increasing realiza- 
tion of the importance of studying personally the needs 
and capacities of our lawns. During the next few years 
we may be sure that lawn planting as an art is likely to 
develop into a most important feature of the home-life of 
the humblest citizen who owns a spot of ground. 

Therefore to those who would keep abreast of the time 
in such matters, I would say, give every possible chance 
to the June effects of trees and shrubs on the lawn. These 
occur on the white days of the year, and all intelligent care 
in the selection and culture of such plants will be now 
more than ever repaid in the pleasure thus afforded both 
our friends and ourselves. 





CHAPTER V. 

THE FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 



UNE is hardly summer. It is the 
threshold, as it were, over which 
are wafted the odors of spring. All 
spring's freshness and richness of 
bounding vitality characterize many 
June days, and it is not until we 
are really launched into the full 
glow of July that we realize what we may fairly consider 
the genuine climate of summer. 

We have doubtless many veritable summer days in 
June, and so we have in May, for that matter, but even in 
June there are decided suggestions of spring still lingering 
in the air. 

It becomes therefore very important to the lawn-planter 
to be able to prolong as much as possible the loveliness 
of May and June. In America, especially, he has an addi- 
tional incentive in the fact that July and August are spent 
largely in the open air by a people who, as a rule, do not 
spend as much time out-of-doors as most other nations. 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 89 

A reason for this is not far to find in onr changeable 
climate, but should we not, in a large degree, attribute this 
neglect of open-air enjoyments to a lack of genuine appre- 
ciation of the sweet influences of nature ? We are apt to 
talk much of the beauties of nature after taking homoeo- 
pathic doses of Ruskin and visiting the AVhite Mountains. 
As a nation, however, I fear, we are not lovers of the open 
air, except for purposes of business or of pleasure that 
hardly involve much direct relation wdth nature. 

Since, however, we are forced to dwell more or less in 
the open air in July and August, constrained by fashion 
and the heat of the weather, it is all the more reason- 
able to make the exterior of the house attractive, and 
to take the opportunity of making this fashion a means of 
gradually developing a more widespread love of nature. 

Of the three main features of the lawn — flowers, 
foliage, and grass, — the first, though important, are least so, 
simply because we can have so few flowers in midsummer. 
Foliage is, with its shade-giving quality, perhaps the most 
important, although for those who have realized to what 
excellence lawn grass can be developed, turf becomes 
scarcely less valuable. 

Maintenance of lawns is not well understood in this 
country, as a rule, and although it must be acknowledged 
that the stress of our summer suns is at times terrible, I be- 
lieve wonders could be acconn:)lished, indeed I may say are 
accomplished in isolated cases, by skill and untiring labor. 
When we learn to give as solicitous attention to perfecting 
our green sward as we expend on the coats of our high- 
priced horses, we shall begin to realize what kind of a 



90 FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 

lawn may be made in America in spite of difficulties of 
climate. 

If then shade is most important to make the lawn 
attractive and lovely in summer, it naturally behooves us 
to study our summer shade trees. As we undertake this 
task we find with regret that we must give up the enjoy- 
ment of some of our grandest shade trees as having already 
reached and passed their prime. Horse-chestnuts that 
formed one of the chief beauties of the foliao;'e of late 
spring and early summer have probably fallen into the 
" sere leaf " and become dull and rusty in many places by 
the end of July. Elms are majestic at all seasons, but their 
leaves often fade by midsummer. Lindens, except the 
sulphurea and dasystyla, and possibly the silver-leaved, are 
now fading also. Ashes are fresh, and several willows and 
poplars, but many trees have assumed a mature and even 
languid appearance, that suggests at once the permanent 
presence of a more sober stage of existence and a feeling 
that the tree is resting. 

There is scarcely yet much positive decay. Light and 
life have for them settled down to a consciousness of com- 
pleted development which, if, on the whole, a satisfactory 
state of things for the present, suggests quite distinctly the 
approaching end. 

The best shade tree at this season, if not at all seasons 
of the year, is the beech. This fact was recognized by the 
ancients, and is still apparent to most tree lovers of the 
present day. It is true, the beech grows slowly, but did 
ever any enduring, really fine tree grow otherwise than 
slowly. The elm and other grand trees may he, un- 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 91 

doubtedly instanced as capable of tlie most rapid growth, 
but they are, it will be found, not positively fine in detail 
like tlie beeches. 

The broad shining glossiness of the beech leaf sheds a 
lustrous lio^ht and shade of the most t;:rateful character. 
There is plenty of shadow, but no disagreeable closeness 
and weight of shade. The pleasant features of this shade 
pertain to all beeches of whatever species or variety. Their 
outline and coloring is alike fine in August as throughout 
the season, and if the j^urple beech shows a greener tinge 
on its foliage at midsummer, it still retains its early charm 
of elegant contour, delightful lustre, and simple grace of 
leafage. 

So well known are the pleasant summer qualities of the 
purple and weeping beeches, and, for that matter, of the 
simple, original type of both the American and European 
species, that the very sound of their names brings back one 
of the most agreeable and permanent pleasures of deep 
midsummer — that of lying beneath their boughs recuhans 
8uh tegininefagi. 

For this purpose, the importance of fostering the most 
perfect development of the lower branches is at once 
evident. To do this, it is not only necessary to preserve 
these lower branches from mutilation by carelessness or 
unskilful and excessive piuming, but the growth of the tree 
must be also restrained during youth, where an excessive 
vigor may tend to diminish the luxuriousuess of the foliage 
near the ground. This applies more especially to the weep- 
ing beech, but the suggestion has definite and considerable 
value in the manacrement of most kinds of trees. 



92 FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 

All maples are fine during summer. As a shade tree 
especially adapted to midsummer, tlie best of the genus is 
undoubtedly the Norway maple. Its leaves are broad and 
shadowy, Avith a texture and peculiar habit of lying close 
to the branches that is productive of the most agreeable 
shade. Broad and massive in general contour and of a 
rich green color, the Norway maple must necessarily be an 
agreeable feature of the summer lawn. 

For another kind of shade than that of the Norway 
maple, we turn to the Oriental plane-tree, a near relative of 
our American l)utton-wood, only a l)etter tree. In this 
instance we find plenty of shade, under large spreading 
foliage, l)ut a shade that is far less agreeable than that of 
the beech or maple. Try the shade of the black walnut 
and compare it Avith that of the American chestnut. Some- 
thing in the texture and set of the leaves makes the dif- 
ference. Pliny speaks at some length of this difference 
between shade trees. The shade of the ailantus is not 
specially agreeable, although its fine large light-green foliage 
has a delightful Oriental effect on the summer lawn. Prac- 
tically the ailantus is thrust into Coventry on account of the 
disagreeable odor of its flowers for a week or two in June. 

The American chestnut is a noble tree on the summer 
lawn. The foliasre is shinins; and ele2:ant in outline, and 
dispenses a pleasant shade. It grows well, and is nearly 
always thrifty and vigorous. The flowers, too, that whiten 
the surface of a great chestnut in summer, add greatly to 
its attraction. 

One of the largest and most conspicuous trees on the 
lawn is the catalpa. Broad and massive-looking, especially 



94 FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 

if pruned properly, it is quite uiii(|ue iu its way. Its shade, 
however, is uot as agreeable as that of the beech or mapie. 
There is a golden catalpa that bears great golden leaves in 
June, and on its second growth of August and September. 
These leaves are conspicuous and specially effective at a 
cf)nsiderable distance. 

The ashes are many of them quite interesting in summer, 
particularly those that are variegated on their second growth 
of young leaves. Such a one is the European ash ( Fraxinus 
concavcFfolia ) , so called on account of the peculiar forma- 
tion of its leaves. The second growth of this variety, as well 
as the growth of June, has the appearance of a loose bouquet 
of flowers at a distance, white, red, and green, arranged in 
an irregular clustered shape. 

The white fringe ( Chionanthus Virginica), a relative 
of the ash, has also a fine shining foliage, which makes it a 
charming plant even after its lace-like masses of flowers in 
June are gone. 

One of the finest summer shade and ornamental trees is 
the Kentucky coffee-tree. The leaves are acacia-like, light 
green, and graceful, but their chief charm lies iu the fact 
that they are set on edge, as it were, so that the sunlight 
slides or sifts through in a very peculiar fashion. This 
makes the shade, however, of a most agreeable character, 
and lends the tree a special charm for the summer-time. A 
rough, dark bark also gives the Kentucky coffee-tree a still 
more striking character, from the contrast it makes with the 
light and elegant foliage. 

Of light-green, sunny foliage also is the Kodreuteria — a 
summer tree in every sense ! To a round-headed fine con- 



1 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 95 

tour is added a light-green color, and a soft green velvety 
texture suggested rather than felt. In June, its yellow 
flowers are beautiful, but its foliage alone should obtain 
for it much employment as a summer tree. 

There is again the liquid ambar or sweet gum. We all 
know this tree, and prize it much for its rich red color in 
fall. Scarcely less lovely, however, are the summer quali- 
ties of its light-green star-shaped leaves and generally unique 
effect. Indeed, we can hardly employ it distinctively as a 
summer tree, because of its great ornamental value at all 
seasons. 

Nor would I like to forget in this connection another 
forest tree, of most excellent and shining qualities in the 
summer-time, as well as in the earlier days of spring. The 
tulip-tree is noble at most times, but never more so 
than when it rears its lofty shining foliage above the sur- 
rounding summer greenery. If the tulip-tree were more 
easily transplanted it would be more widely planted, for it 
is in every way an excellent shade and ornamental tree. 
The remedy for this defect or difficulty in transplanting is 
obtained by setting out in spring young trees four to six 
feet high. I must not forget before leaving the tulip to 
speak of the magnificent erect bole its trunk presents. 
Only corrugated in the bark enough to give it a look of 
strength, the smooth tall shaft springs up to a great height 
and makes at all times one of the most attractive features 
of the tree. 

Magnolias generally on account of their flowers belong 
more particularly to spring, but midsummer should claim 
at least one species, the American M. macrophylla. It is 



96 FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 

the most tropical-looking tree of the lawn, the great massive 
leaves assuming the gigantic proportions of three feet long 
and a foot broad. These leaves are, moreover, rich and 
shining in color and striking throughout the summer. A 
conspicuous position and abundant room at some distance 
from the house should be accorded this magnolia for the 
attainment of its fullest effect. Its shade is delightful, and 
as a summer tree its rank is in every way high. 

But let us turn to a group of summer trees that rank 
on the lawn only second to the beeches. There are so 
many fine varieties in the richly endowed genus of oaks 
that I am in doubt which to select for special notice. They 
are all fine summer trees, and the American varieties per- 
haps most of all. When we lament our inability to grow 
the perfect evergreens seen everywhere in England, we 
have only to turn to our grand native oaks and feel com- 
pensated by our richness in that deciduous genus alone. 

Among American oaks there is the chestnut oak, com 
bining the fine outline of leaf of the chestnut and all the 
grandeur and shining qualities of the true oak type. For 
an oak it grows with much vigor and symmetry. Then 
there is the white oak, also of noble proportions, as well 
as the red oak. The scarlet oak is somewhat smaller. 
Among American oaks there is no finer at any time, and 
especially in summer, than the pin oak ( Querctis palusPris ) . 
Its drooping, yet vigorous and shining foliage make one 
of the most striking features of any summer landscape. 
A fine species for this season of the year is the willow 
oak ( Quercus pliellos), with light gray, curious, narrow 
leaves. Originally growing in a more southern climate 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 97 

tliau our Middle and Eastern States, it yet seems perfectly- 
hardy throughout the North. It is round-headed and 
small-sized for an oak and is in every way an interesting 
and valuable ornamental tree. The English oak ( Qiiercus 
robur J, and its well-marked v eniet j, pediinculata, £ire noble- 
looking trees, although they do not succeed as invariably 
in America as our American species. This oak is fine for 
both appearance and shade in summer, particularly in one 
or two of its varieties. The most remarkable is the golden 
oak ( Quercus rohur jpeduncidata Concordia). In June, this 
oak is greenish-gold, but later takes on its full deep golden 
tint, which it retains until frost. Such bright lively tints 
are very refreshing and charming during the heat and dull 
hues of Auo-ust. No summer la\vn should be considered 
complete without a golden oak planted in some conspicuous 
position where the yellowish tint will contrast properly 
with the green of other foliage. This variety grows fairly 
for an oak, and the foliage, when the tree has been well 
pruned, lies in thick rich masses of the most attractive charac- 
ter. Indeed, what tree will not judicious pruning improve ? 
Of the Japan oaks there are few grander and more ef- 
fective in summer than the royal oak of Japan (Qiiercus 
Dainiio). No oak kno^vn on the lawn has larger leaves. 
For summer ornament it is therefore very effective. The 
pyramidal oak, a European variety, is also fine in summer 
with its o-reat vio-or and bold outline. Another variety of 
the English oak, viz., the weeping form, has fine foliage 
and a remarkable habit to render it conspicuous in summer 
on the lawn. My space would not of course permit the 
description of all oaks valuable on the summer lawn ; for, 



98 FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 

indeed, all are fine at that season and the uiimbei" r)t' the 
varieties is legion. I have mentioned, liowever, some of 
the most remai'kal)le. 

The poplars and ^villows generally seem to belong to an 
earlier season than midsummer, but there are one or two 
varieties I must mention in this connection. Many poplars 
are objectionable on account of an evil habit of suckering 
and a somewhat coarse appearance, valuable as they are in 
many situations. But the balsam poplar is in every way a 
fine ornamental tree. It is clean and healthy and free from 
suckers, and has a grand outline and size of leaf. The color 
of the foliage is rich and shining, and well htting to the 
summer lawn. Yellowish dral) or brown and finely marked, 
the branches and trunks are likewise attractive. 

Resembling the balsam poplar, in its fitness for the 
summer lawn, there is the Salix laurifolia or pentandra, 
the laureldeaved willow. This plant has been employed 
with little reference to summer, but few trees have finer 
foliage in summer, and it continues bi'ight and shining until 
late in fall. It is strong-growing, however, more a tree than 
a bush, and inclined to lose its lower branches, and therefore 
should Vje planted in the screening masses of other shrubs. 

Of a dwarfer habit is the gray, cui'ving, narrowdeaved 
rosemary willow, the cool, soft tints of which ai-e well fitted 
to please the eye during the glaring days of August. It 
suits the outskirts of shrub groups from its compact, round 
and weeping habit. All the ^^'illows, in fact, are pleasant 
to the eye in summer, and free from the worn-out look 
peculiar to many trees at this season. 

There are two summer trees or shrubs (for they partake 
of the characteristics of both shrub and tree) which we 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 99 



must not overlook, so beautiful are they, and unique in 
their own peculiar way. One is Stuartia 'pentagynia and 
the other Oxydendriwi arhoreum., or Andromeda arhorea, 
the sorrel-tree. The first, bearing throughout the season 
foliage invariably l>]'ight and l)eautiful, is particularly at- 
tractive at midsummer for creamy-white, orangedike clusters 
of flowers. The Andromeda arhorea, noticed in detail in 
another place, has during the scarcity of flowers at midsum- 
mer the supreme attraction of white, swaying tassels of 
sweet-scented bloom. 

The little Hyper ieiiin^ studded with (piantities of bright 
yellow flowers, is not to be despised at this season, and the 
delicate, feathery foliage and beaded 
pink flowei's of the hardy Tamarisk 
Indica are in full perfection at about 
the same time. The rich, effective 
hues of the Althea flowers also pertain 
properly to sunnner, although they 
last into September. 

But the no^\' celebrated Hydrangea 
panicnlata grandijlora, ^vith its great 
trusses of white and pink flowers, 
hardly belongs to summer properly, 
for its richest and most varied tints of 
crimson only appear just before the 
flrst approach of frost. 

Let us not forget either in assem- 
bling our summer lawn beauties to 

DOUBLE FLOWERING ALTHEA. 

employ the old and neglected Lycium (hibiscus syriacus, fl.pl.) 
barharuni, or box tlioi'n, with its curving masses of small, 
half-climbing foliage, studded in August with little effec- 




100 FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 



tive purple flowers. It is also valuable because it will 
thrive in any soil or exposure. 

The dogwoods have perhaps no distinctive summer 
quality, but they are so fine both in wood and leafage 
throughout the year that I should invariably include them 
among an assemblage of sunnuer lawn plants. 

One of the most effective of our large shrubs in summer 
is the Oolutm, or bladder senna, in its several varieties. 
An acacia-like foliage and great compactness and vigor 
give it special value for combination in shrulj groups, but 

its yellow or yellowish-red 
pea-blossom-like flowers iu 
June and July, followed by 
reddish pods or bladders, 
are also valuable features 
for the summer lawn. 

The Aniorplia, though 
more spreading, is somewhat 
allied to the Col idea in ap- 
pearance, and l)ears quanti- 
ties of small purplish flowers 
iu dense terminal flattish 
clusters durino; early summer. 
For the outskirts of 
groups, where low-grooving 
shrubs are particularly de- 
sirable, the glossy leaves 
and rounded contours of the 
Clethra alnifolia work in very successfully ovith the added 
beauty of protruding spikes of sweet-scented ovliite mid- 




SWEET PEPPER-BUSH. 

(clethra alnifolia.) 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 101 

summer flo^v^ers. Andromeda Mariana^ or stagger Ijiisli, 
resembles somewliat the Olethra ahiifolia, though its white 
summer flowers are less striking in appearance. 

The horse-chestnut for Mooni belongs peculiarly to 
spring, but one there is, u^sculus parvifiora, of thx-arf- 
spreading contours, which forms one of the most effective 




DWARF FLOWERING HORSE-CHESTNUT TREES. 

l/ESCULUS PARVIFLORA. ) 



objects on the lawn in July, with its rich spikes of white 
flowers thrust prominently above masses of the peculiar 
ty^^ical horse-chestnut foliage. 

But I nnist not leave the subject of summer trees ^Wtli- 
out referring with deepest admiration to tlie elegant, taper- 
ing, arro^v-like form and tender, strange-looking, pea-green 



102 FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 



foliage of tlie Chinese cypress. JSTo ineinl)er of tlie Taxo- 
diu7n family attains its full panoply of foliage in this 

climate before July. Cypress- 
es should be employed above 
all things for their summer 
effect. Very graceful and 
impressive are Southern cy- 
presses, with their picturesque 
masses of feathery foliage, 1 )ut 
unicpie and beautiful, almost 
above all other trees on the 
summer lawn, is a good speci- 
men of the strange, foreign- 
looking Chinese C3q)ress. 

Most s[)ireas flower in 
May or June, but there are 
several that bloom duriuo: mid 
and late summer, and have 
therefore an important place 
in such assemblages as we 
are discussing. Spircea callosa 
alha is perhaps the most note- 
worth}', for, although it com- 
mences to flower in June, it 
has an abundant second l)loom in July, which, added to the 
flower's beauty and its I'ounded, low-growing form, make it 
useful in different combinations of shrubs. S. I^iUardii, 
Douglasiiy salicifolia, and tomentosa are other varieties of 
spireas that bloom late in summer. 

AVeigelias generally are valual)le June-fl<>\vering shiiibs, 




S^\«sw.>^ 






CHINESE CYPRESS. 

(glyptostrobus sinensis.) 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 103 

but one peculiar one, TF. Lavallei^ I must meutiou for its 
abundant dark-red iiowers borne a second time in July and 







JAPAN IVY. 

(aMPELOPSIS TRiCUSPIDATA.) 



August. The variegated dwarf weigelia is fresh and at- 
tractive in late sinnmer, as well as during all other seasons 
of the year when it is clothed with foliage. 



104 FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER. 



I must not leave the summer lawn Avitliout dwelling 
briefly on the charms of various climbers at this season. 

The Ahehia quinata, neat and 

elegant all summer, is never 

apparently more so, it may be 

by contrast, than in August. 

Arapelo'psis tricas^ndata, wdth 

"'J^ i^^ ^\ shining leaves and rootlets cling- 

,;\ ing to stone or wooden avails, is 

bright as ever, and seemingly 

more vigorous in late 

summer. The l)road, 

massive, '^trange- 



looking leaves of the 
Dutchman's pipe 
are \'ery effec- 
tive no^v, and 
several clematises, yellow cqni- 
folia, white sweet-scented fmn- 
mula, greenish-white G/'ahconil, 
the old-fashioned Viiyiniana, all 
clothe during summer their near- 
est support with thick masses of 
leaves and flowers. 

The honeysuckles are fresh 
and pleasing all summer, espe- 
cially when climbing over stumps 
or ]'ocks and hillsides, and in sev- 
eral instances, such as those of semperviretts and sinensis, 
thi'oughout the season. Menispermum Canaden.se, the 




DUTCHMAN'S PIPE. 

(aristolochia sipho. ) 




SWEET-SCENTED CLEMATIS. 
(clematis flammula.) 



I 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE OF SUMMER, 105 



inoon-seed, makes a pretty clotliing of foliage tliroiigliout 
the summer ; l)ut the most effective of smiimer climbers is 
the great Teco))ia ( Ijhjnonia), or trumpet creeper. 

Our commou old-fasliioued trumpet creeper ( Tecoma 
radicans) \\\i\\ its ricli criuisou trumpet-shaped flowers is 
spleudid l)otli in leaf aud l)looiu wheu 
trained over stones aud stumps of 
trees, but Tecoma grandijloni., with 
its broader aud larger orange-colored 
flowers, quite surpasses it. It is not, 
however, always hardy. Effecti\'e 
shrubs may be made of these strong- 
growing trumpet creepers 1j}' training 
them over a stump or post, six or 
eight feet high, where they rapidly 
assume a perfect l)ush form. 

In considering the valuable sum- 
mer traits of the plants I have named, 
I feel that I have given a very brief /d^^^'' 
tribute to their peculiar charms, aud 
I kno-w full Avell too that many other 
kinds exist, suitable for like employ- 
ment, but pause because my intention ^ 
is to be stimulative and suo-scestive 
rather than to exhaust this subject. 
Moreover, enough varieties have been 
considered to make, in j^roper combination, even the most 
ambitious lawn beautiful throughout the months of July 
and Auo-ust. 




TRUMPET CREEPER. 

(tecoma radicans. > 



CHAPTER VI. 



GREEN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE. 




ID it ever occur to any one that 
it would be well to brighten the 
lawn in fall with more trees that 
remain green at that season ? If 
it ever has, the evidence scarcely 
ap])ears. Yet the dull and fading 
hues of autumn, in spite of the 
increasing beauty of dying leaves, 
need some green color to refresh the eye. Perhaps in im- 
proving lawns we do not sufficiently consider all the valua- 
ble qualities of different plants, failing to recognize the 
lessons afforded by woodland scenery. It may not, there- 
fore, be uninteresting to touch briefly the fall characteristics 
of certain trees and shrubs noteworthy in this respect. We 
might naturally turn to evergreens as especially suited for 
our purpose, but, with few exceptions, their hues have 
been dimmed since June. The green does not seem as 
warm and fresh as it did then, and an evergreen has never 
that cheerful enlivening aspect presented by the green of 
deciduous trees. 

io6 



GREEN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE, 107 

We propose to iiichule no plants tlie foliage of which 
suffers from mere white frost, aud even to include some the 
leaves of Avhich will endure a severe freezing without 
injuiy to their l)eauty. There is doubtless a season in 
late August and early September, during which the lawn 
should be carefully supplied with such foliage and flowers 
as will yet flourish ; but we have chosen a later period, 
which is sometimes deferred until the middle of October, 
and which is more neglected and needy. 

One would tliink the maples Avould be valuable for 
their green in fall and so they uncpiestionably are. They 
are healthy, thrifty, and vigorous, but no \'ariety very 
remarkable for its late green exists among them unless 
it be the little colchicum maple, properly called Acer 
IcBt'imi. The foliage of this tree is pleasing and of cuii- 
ous outline. Delicate red stems support the leaves, and the 
general appearance is bright and cheerful. It is a choice, 
uncommon maple, to which I have already referred with 
respect, aud should be more employed as a single specimen 
on the lawn. 

The conunon catalpa ( C. syringcBfolia)^ much spoken 
of nowadays for its enduring wood, and most valuable to 
the lawn planter for broad, shadowy foliage, retains its 
green color well in fall. There is also a dwarf foi-m, C. 
JBtingeii, sometimes misnamed iLcempferi, rounded like a 
hemisphere, with very delicate autumnal greens. The 
Aralia Japonica is drooping and graceful and effective in 
its autumn green. 

Chio7ianthus Virginica, the white fringe, old, well- 
known, and choice, is not usually s[)()ken of for its autum- 



108 



GREEN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE. 



nal beauty. The reputation of the exquisite lace-like flowers 
has doubtless eclipsed the glory of the foliage. It is large 
for a shrub, lustrous and oval in contour, and the leaves 
have a dark, rich green in fall. 

The American persimmon is a noteworthy tree for its 
green in fall ; but the Japanese persimmon, or liciki^ shows 
a richer, glossier foliage, like orange leaves in color. Un- 
fortunately, it is not hardy in the Middle 
'thern States. 

shrubs are prettier in the fall 
the evergreen thorn ( CotoneaHter 
'atcegus 'lyyracaniha ) . The small 
glossy dark-green leaves and 
orange-colored berries, all pro- 
tected by masses of thorns, char- 
acterize the finest 



foreign Cratccgus 
which is thoroui^h- 
ly healthy in Amer- 
ica, as it is also at- 
tractive in very late fall and 
even winter. 

Cercis Japomca^ the Japan 
Judas tree, has heart-shaped 
leaves, glossy, tough, and retained late in fall. It is rare 
and choice, and decidedly attractive Ijotli for its flowers 
and leaves during at least Ave mouths of the year. In 
spring, early pink flo\vers A\'reathe the stem, before the 
leaves put forth. 

The best green-leaved spirea in fall is, perhaps, >S1^>/v/mA 




INDIAN BEAN. 

(CATALPA BIGNONiOIOES.) 



GREEN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE. 109 

folia., which assumes still richer colors as a late autumnal 
garb. Spircea a'ispifoUa, rare, and recently introduced 
from Jaj^an, is a variety of S. hrillata ', a dwarf mass of 
rounded, curling foliage, it is well preserved in fall. 

Salix lauHfolia, or 8. pentaiidra, the laurel-leaved wil- 
low, preserves a shining green late in the season. The 
ornamental value of this tree is not sufficiently considered. 
It endures all exposures and soils, even close to the sea- 
shore, and is always clean and thrifty. 

The elms are remarkably deficient in attraction during 
the fall, with one or two curious exceptions. The one 
specially notable is the weeping — so called slippery — elm, or 
it may be simply a variety of the American, which grows 
with great rapidity, and has a fine vigorous foliage. So 
rapid is this growth that grafts made in the spring will 
attain six or eight feet during the following summer. We 
see a specimen before us, while we are Avriting, where a 
large American elm has been stripped of its branches and 
grafted at numerous points Avith cions of this weeping 
elm. The effect produced after a few years has l^een most 
extraordinary. Long, pendent branches, clothed \vitli luxu- 
riant foliao;e, swiuix and wreathe themselves about a2:ainst 
the sky like gigantic snakes. The most valuable quality of 
this choice tree lies in the fact that its foliage is frequently 
green until October, and ahvays green Aveeks later than 
most other elms. There is one other elm Avhich is rare 
— Ulmus parinfolia., — that holds its green so late that it 
might be classed with oaks and beeches for this peculiarity. 
It is of moderate growth, and has rough, slightly curled 
foliage, grouped closely along the I) ranches. 



no 



GREEN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE. 



So far as ^^'e know, the lindens can only boast of two 
varieties that remain really green in fall, viz. : Tilia dasy- 
styla and 2] sxlpliurea, golden-barked trees with bright 
green foliage. All other lindens fade soon, and become almost 
unsightly in early autumn, so that the green foliage of these 
varieties seem -s'ery curious to behold in October. The 
effect of the unusual season of such coloring is increased by 
the strong contrast afforded by a bright yellow bark and a 
singularly lustrous foliage. 




WEEPING BEECH. 
(fagus sylvatica pendula. ) 



But the noblest trees of bright green and other good 
qualities are the beeches and oaks, rich in color and pic- 
turesque in form, always affording grateful shade; other 
trees may possibly be as fine in some ])eculiar fashion, but 



GREEN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE. 



Ill 



uoue can be more generally satisfactory. Not specially 
early in spring in putting forth leaves, tliey are most 
beautiful in June, and indeed throughout the summer. In 




WEEPING BEECH IN WINTER. 



autumnal landscapes, however, their late foliage, almost 
evergreen during mild winters, performs a valuable part, 
for the very reason that there is no\v S(j much less beauty 
among trees than earlier in the season. All kinds of beeches 
are fine in the fall. The cut-leaved, the purple, and the 
common American and European l^eeches are all most 
effective and green until winter ; but the noblest of all is 
the celebrated weeping beech. Its great, gleaming masses 
of foliage assume all kinds of fantastic shapes, and reveal 
bowers and recesses until the leaves of almost every other 



112 



GREEN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE. 




tree Lave 
taken their 
departure. 
To me the American 
\)QQq)^ Fagus ferruginea^ 
is DO le&s beautiful than the 
European species and variety. 
The foliage is delicate in finish, 
and it lies in an arrangement of layers 
that is peculiarly attractive. The only 
other rival the beech really has in late 
fall, is the oak. Strong, sturdy, and 
[)icturesque, enduring and grand, it is 
admired by every one and planted by few. 
It transplants with difficulty and grows 
slowly ; but when once established it is well worth the 
patience it has demanded. All oaks are fine in fall, and in 
many cases pi'eserve their leaves fresh and green into No- 
vember and later. Indeed, though we have no really ever- 
green oaks in the North, there are seasons when some oaks, 
notably the ^jyramidal, retain a few leaves all winter. The 
willow-leaved oak, as well as the pin oak, and the rare, 
large-leaved Dahnio from Japan, among others, are very 
beautiful in fall, sometimes even in late November and 
December. 



ELEAGNUS LONGIPES. 



GREEN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE, 113 

Did space permit, we should like to dwell on the beauty 
in autumu of \'arious privets, Daphne cneonmi of tiuy ever- 
green foliage, and certain of the Elwgnui^ species, notably 
the gray E. Hortensis and the robust E. longipes, with 
large leaves and red Ijerries, as well as the beautiful fall 
climbers, evergreen honeysuckles, Ahehias, Virginia silk, 
etc. All these should be planted with taste here and there 
about the lawn, supported by occasional masses of rhodo- 
dendrons, laurels, mahonias, and other evergreen shrubs. 
Thus adorned, the la^vn, in the fine air and lights of autumn 
and during bright days, may well tempt us to linger amid 
its yet beautiful foliage, Avhere crimson and gold are mingled 
plentifully with green. 







CHAPTER VII. 

AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 



HE supreme point of our enjoyment 
of lawn-planting is reached when 
^ve have compassed in our grounds 
the loveliest effects of color. Al- 
though this is a fact, I fancy we 
seldom consciously attempt to com- 
pass these color eifects. A dress pat- 
tern is selected, the tints of every 
pai't of the room, both walls, furniture, and lioor, are studied 
with the critical eye of genius, but when ^ve come to the 
lawn, composition of any kind is seklom attempted, nuich 
less a harmonious disposition of color. 

Indeed, I believe, when any one does more than stand 
specimens about Avherever they niay happen to come, form 
is apt to receive first and almost exclusive attention. A 
pyramidal tree, a broad-spreading tree, a tall ti'ee, a d^vai'f 
tree, secures a certain amount of attention for its proper dis- 
position, but the foliage might be, to all intents and j)iii'- 
poses, one shade of gi'een for any consideration color re- 




AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 115 



ceives iu the special grouping uud arruugement. Even 
Central Park, New York, the most notable landscape-gar- 
dening essay iu America, has ahrays impressed me as defec- 
tive in studied color effects of folia2:e. This is doul)tless 
caused in part Ijy a want of sufficient variety in tlie large 
masses of the plants employed. Twenty-five years ago, 
when the Park was planted, there was like^vise a nmch 
smaller variety of ornamental trees in the nurseries than 
there is at present. 

Yet, notwithstanding this apparent neglect of color in 
lawn-planting of the present day, I am not inclined to 
believe that our enjoyment of color in foliage falls at all 
behind that of our enjoyment of tree form. Form doul)t- 
less appeals more to the direct, practical instincts of the 
gardener or farmer, and in his hands has rested iu large part 
all tree-planting up to the present time, Nay, more, I be- 
lieve that if women could or would have given as much 
attention to the lawn as they have to the flower garden, 
this reproach of baldness of color would not now apply in 
the same degree to the tree-planting in vogue. 

The truth is that color, for almost every one, is a great 
and positive delight. This delight may be more sensuous 
and less purely intellectual than that inspired Ijy agreeable 
form, but it belongs more truly, nevertheless, to the restful 
physical pleasure associated 'with the lawn. Indeed the 
mere mention of the word color on the lawn calls up to 
the memory lovely tints of foliage and flower, and few will 
perhaps acknowledge that they have neglected color for 
such purposes. In most cases this erroneous impression 
comes from ignorance of possible color combinations of this 



116 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 



character. People have a taste aud regard for beauty of 
foliage of every kind, but the trouble is their knowledge is 
defective. 

In short, I would venture to assert that if the mass of 
cultured men and women could realize — that is, see directly 
before their eyes, as it were — a tithe of the lovely composi- 
tions of color attainable by means of foliage on the lawn, 
fashion ^vould simply declare that an attractive home must 
include such effects if it would be considered at all com- 
plete. 

The direct proof of this assertion lies in the falsely 
directed enthusiasm shown for the Persian rug wrought 
into the lawn with bedding plants, echeverias, alternantheras, 
and the like. True, the Persian rug is an admirable thing 
in its way, an absolute ^vork of art, but then it is not 
always in harmony with the natural effects suitable to 
a special surface of greensward. Yet people delight in 
Persian-rug or carpet gardening from a simple and very 
reasonable love of color. I contend, indeed, that carpet or 
ribbon gardening, artistically composed, is both right and 
proper in its way, only it should be subordinated to, as well 
as co-ordinated with, other compositions of color throughout 
the entire system of planting on any special lawn. 

With tlie object of inspiring a due regard for the charm- 
ing possibilities of color composition in foliage not only 
during one season but during all seasons, I propose to con- 
sider briefly the material that constitutes one of these effects, 
and something of the methods by which it can be best 
attained. If artists were all o-ardeners or o-ardeners all ar- 
tists, these effects and their construction would be familiar 



AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 117 

to us ; as it is, we must be satisfied with a suggestive sketch, 
and hope that the love for lawu-planting may soon grow 
sufficiently to demand a more exhaustive treatment of color 
composition in foliage than I can expect to give at the 
present time. 

The foliage w^hich I now choose for consideration is that 
of late fall, and the part of the season that I specially 
select as offering the most lovely and varied color of autumn 
is that which is frequently called Indian summer. We all 
know it. There is possibly nothing of the kind in the 
world that surpasses it. The shimmering haze and indis- 
tinct view of objects that seem to wave slightly before the 
eye, the brilliant tints of outlying trees and shrubs relieved 
against dark foliage and naked branches, all combine to 
create a picture of surpassing loveliness. 

As well might I attempt to explain how to imitate the 
tints of the leaf itself as to discern the methods l)y which 
all these wonderful effects are brouo;ht toa;ether in field and 
wood. The brisk, 23ure air and almost faint stillness often 
add to the glamour of the scene. In short, the senses 
simply luxuriate in the feast spread before them, to the en- 
tire exclusion, for the moment, of any desire to explain the 
why and wherefore. Like the lotus eaters we are satisfied 
^' only to hear and see," but, doubtless, like them too, only 
for a little while, in spite of any intimation of the poet to 
the contrary. AVhen the time comes to plant — and we 
have studied the subject — we find, however, that by Avork- 
ing on the same principles as nature uses in her favored 
spots, we can secure something of the same effect on our 
lawns. It may not indeed have the peculiar charm of true 



118 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 

wildwood scenery, but iu a more cultured, dignified way, it 
may be quite as beautiful. 

Any lawn can secure more or less of these autumnal 
color effects, but large lawns where the attainment of dis- 
tance is possible will compass better their employment. 
The colors may be thus seen toned down to their loveliest 
shade, and that wonderful Indian summer atmosj^here 
attained which, during some, not all seasons, produces such 
mas^ical effects. Doubtless smaller lawns can and should 
supply charming color combinations peculiar to this season ; 
I only allude to the superiority of large lawns for the pur- 
pose. 

Let us see how we must go to work to build up these 
effects. In the first place, we must see that we have dark- 
green or brownish backgrounds and recesses against which 
to construct our most brilliant features. In fact, some of 
these tender grays and browns of autumn are truly wonder- 
ful, and, moreover, a part of the picture we are apt to over- 
look, although if they were left out we would at once miss 
them. Of what then are these backgrounds composed? 
First we must remember that the autumnal pictures on the 
lawn and in the woods can never be exactly alike. One is 
cultivated and the other wild nature. While therefore the 
general composition is constructed on like principles, the 
material and spirit of the two scenes, if I may use such an 
expression, must be of necessity different. 

Thus in both we find a background, in the main of 
heavy green, brown, or gray, varied in the widest and 
subtlest manner within certain limits, but the material used 
must and will be greatly different. Hickories and pep- 



AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 119 

peridges, for instance, are pi'actically ruled out from lawn 
planting of any kind because they are so difficult to trans- 
plant and grow. On the other hand, the law^n may employ 
many foreign varieties of trees which will go far to make 
up for any lack of the wild beauty of native trees nnsuited 
for the purpose. Such an arrangement of trees will be 
characterized by dignity and a choice and elegant charm, 
suggesting even in solitude the fitness of the place for 
human occupation. It is therefore no mere imitation of 
nature we should attempt on our la^vns. 

The very first and best tree, for instance, to use in the 
massed and green part of our autumnal lawn effect is the 
Norway maple. This may seem a little strange to those 
not familiar ^vith trees, for maples are generally looked 
upon as capable of distinguishing themselves in fall chiefly 
by means of color. But the Norway maple holds a dark- 
green color late, and finally its leaves wither and drop with- 
out making any special exhibition of red of any shade. 
Otherwise, the Norway maple is considered the most 
generally valuable of lawn trees, alike for fine rounded 
contoiu's, rich coloring, and healthy long-lived vigor. It 
occupies therefore a fitting position in forming the mass of 
the l^ackground of a plantation made for autumnal effect. 
If some pool or stream happens to be near this grouping 
the effect will be greatly enhanced by appearing the second 
time in the watery mirror of its surface. 

Having; secured the backjjround of dark o:reen, in front 
of which to build up other elements of the picture, we 
must be careful not to destroy its broad loveliness by con- 
structing small mixed-color effects after the Persian-rug 



120 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 

type. There may and sliould be, doubtless, variety in even 
tlie background, but in the main the mass effect must be in 
this case dark green. Variety may be obtained by white- 
stemmed birches, and the branches even of deciduous trees 
that have lost their leaves. Deciduous trees, by the by, 
should make up the major portion, if not all, of our 
autumnal effect. Evergreens, except as they may be used 
here and there very sparingly to punctuate, as it were, the 
mass of the background, should not be employed, because, 
as a rule, they do not look well associated with deciduous 
trees. 

Now and then great variety of form may be attained in 
the background by using in the immediate outskirts of the 
grouping, rigid -looking, grotesque, naked branches, like 
those of the Japan ginkgo and pyramidal oak. 

The Kentucky coffee-tj'ee shows in this background 
delicate, pleasing outlines, early denuded as it is of foliage. 
Indeed it is one of the most attractive of deciduous trees, 
with its peculiar trunk and branches, and its light, 
feathery, graceful foliage. Wide-spreading branches of the 
curious weeping elm, lately referred to, standing well for- 
ward in the mass, serve to vary the effect with partially 
naked limbs, for the leaves of this elm hang on late. 

The broad, rounded contours of that loveliest of decidu- 
ous trees, the Cladnistis tinctoria, Virgilea lutea, or yellow 
wood, increase this variety with curious branching and beauty 
of yellow fading foliage. The background is thus subtly 
shaded, and yet broad and massive. Dark-green color 
characterizes the bulk of the plantation, while all sameness 
of color is relieved bv l)r()wns and 2;ravs of other foliasfe, and 






:t^^fr 



^ hSx.-'^ '^.-•-"''i.V- 




KENTUCKY COFFEE-TREE. 

(gymnocladus canadensis.) 



122 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 

occasional naked stems and branches. These other colors are 
subordinated, as well as softened, into due sympathy with 
the autumnal characteristics of this particular part of the 
season. After all, the background should be employed 
mainly as a foil for the brighter beauties of autumn. It is 
common to think of red tints as the noteworthy colors of 
autumn foliage ; yet there are many others which are very 
attractive, as even our brief consideration of a proper back- 
ground has already shown us. 

AVe mast come now to consider the higher notes or 
chords of our symphony of color. The most brilliant effects 
are reached in the red or crimson tints. Scarlet is a color 
almost unknown to the normal foliage of hardy plants. 
The most familiar exam})le of this rich chord of color is 
found in the autumn tints of the swamp, oi* falsely named 
scarlet, maple, Acer rnhruw.^ and in the common sugar maple. 
Of all the forms of maples, except the fihvuhhy poli/nio7'phu7n 
from Japan, these are the only species remarkal)le for their 
red color in fall. How beautiful they are, thousands can 
testify who have stood entranced before the sugar maples 
of the hills of Vermont or the scarlet maples on the banks 
of the Delaware. Sugar maples sometimes color grandly, 
especially on hillsides. 

On the lawn, these reddish tints often fail, or simply 
serve to warm the rich golden-yellow which is apt to take 
their place. For that matter, Avho has not often seen as 
fine a yellow on the tulip poplar ! We should, therefore, 
plant the tulip poplar in the background, where its colors 
will blend agreeably with the greens and browns of the 
other trees. The sugar maple, also, does not generally 



AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 123 

make the richest poiuts of color in the hmdscajDe, but 
must be contented to heighten very materially the quieter 
tints of the background. Since, moreover, it is elegant 
and symmetrical in outline, one of our very choicest 
shade trees, it should stand well forward in the mass or 
backo-round. 

The scarlet or red maple is the richest in autumnal color 
of all maples ; I was about to say of all trees. It seldom 
fails during any autumn to change more or less splendidly ; 
and therefore deserves to stand out a single flaming monu- 
ment in the van of all autumnal color. There is somethino: 
quite indescribable in the glow and intensity of tint often 
displayed by this ma})le. Is it ignorance or the want of 
seeing eyes that causes its lack of employment on the lawn ;• 
It is true, the scarlet maple is slower-growing than the 
sugar maple, of less regular and ^^l^^asing outline, and 
certainly less beautiful and satisfactory at other seasons of 
the year. But in fall, it simply reigns supreme. 

Scarcely less beautiful than the scarlet maple are some 
of the oaks. Many of them, like the Turkey, English, and 
pyramidal oaks, are grandly effective in the background 
with their solid dark-green tints. But the ^vhite, red, and 
scarlet oaks — American species all — take on the most dis- 
tinct and glowing autumnal colors. All oaks are too much 
neglected in lawn-2:)lanting. Whether for color, form, or 
rugged longevity, they are invaluable for ornamental pur- 
poses on the lawn. Here, too, while speaking of oaks, I 
should again mention the golden oak ( Que reus Concordia). 
This tree serves as an instance where — although it too 
is apt to lose its beauty somewhat before the Indian 



124 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN 

summer — aiiotlier color thau red becomes, by its intensity, 
almost the brilliant feature of the scene. Its special peculi- 
arity appears in the fact that it becomes more and more 
golden all summer until in mid-autumn it stands a bright 
yellow flame of health and vigor amid the dull and fading 
tints of fall. It is one of the choicest of recent introduc- 
tions, and holds its foliage late. 

Turning again to the consideration of reddish autumnal 
tints, we find the li(|uid am1)ar presenting the deepest, 
darkest crimson on its more or less star-shaped leaves. This 
tree is of smaller size than maples, tulips, or oaks, but is 
one of our half dozen thoroughly excellent autumn trees. 
It is round-headed, has a straight rough stem, and is alto- 
gether a very characteristic American tree. In this arrange- 
ment of color it should be continually remembered that we 
want striking, prominent points of interest on which the 
eye may rest with pleasure. There must be generally no 
confusion, no mingling in the case of these interesting 
points of red color. The groujD of red trees look Ijetter 
standing quite away from any general green mass, a flaming 
forerunner or standard-bearer at the head of the retreating 
hosts of autumn. 

Before proceeding to dwell on beautiful shrubs, we 
must look a moment at a plant that is almost a shrub in 
habit, but which merits a most distinguished position on 
the lawn. This plant is the new and rare Chinese sumac 
( IlhuH Oshechli). I know of no richer red than that which 
suffuses its laro;e leaf. It is crimson, chans-ins: almost to 
scarlet in certain spots. The large wing' or prolongation of 
each leaf on either side of the stem makes it still more 








LIQUID AMBAR. 



126 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 

cui'ious aud effective. lu lialnt it is somewhat straggling 
aD(l open, Ijut tbe color is positively unsurpassed. 

AndroTneda arhorea^ov Oxydendrum arhoreum, the sorrel 
tree, is au other most excellent plant in the foreground of 
our autumn picture. The leaves hang on late, and assume 
lovely variegations of mottled green and I'ed, turning later 
into fine reddish crimson. Though a native plant, this 
shrub is rare. It should certainly be as common as its slow 
growth and difficult propagation will permit. 

Conius jiorida, the white flowering dogwood of early 
spring, has also glowing red autumnal tints on its leaves, 
Avhich compose themselves in broad stratified masses. 

All this color, however, in the case of shrubs intended 
to carry out the general design, should be backed up in the 
same manner as the colors of trees were treated — that is, 
with j^lants of similar size and solid green foliage like the 
California privet and laurel-leaved willow. Both are large 
aud rapid-growing, well calculated to make a pleasing con- 
trast among the larger contours of the trees which constitute 
the true backgi'ound. A pai'tial mingling of shrubs and 
trees, moreover, gives the scene a natural appearance. The 
stems of the trees are clothed by these shrubs much as they 
are wont to be in woodland glades. For this purpose the 
evergreen thorn comes in well with its dark-green or 
bronze-red foliage, neat, beautiful, and compact, with that 
picturesque iri-egularity of outline peculiar to thorns 
generally. 

Few shrubs clothe these autumn tree trunks more 
attractively than many of the olive or gray-green willows. 
They put forth leaves, moreover, early and hold their foliage 



128 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 

late. Even the weejDiDg willow does this. But the rose- 
mary willow, with narrow^, waving leaves, is better suited for 
the purpose. Its blue green produces in fall that charmingly 
cool tone so pleasing along the edge of a mass of trees, 
especially when the entire scene lies on the banks of a 
pool or stream of water. The effect is repeated on the 
water in still more delicate combinations, and affects one 
like a subdued distant musical note reverberated or echoed 
on waves of air. Most lawns can have a pool of water. It is 
certainly desirable as a means of displaying autumn colors 
with peculiar and striking effect on its mirror-like surface. 

But do not forget the willows of many species. They 
form a notable instance of ^vhat may be accomplished by the 
grays and greens of fall. The shimmering atmosphere of 
Indian summer suits wonderfully the glowing crimson and 
sparkling green foliage of that season. Yet even during 
that season there are different days which are to me more 
lovely still, being almost solemn with their pure air, clear 
and Imoyant and yet devoid of brightness— like the interior 
of some great cathedral. It is for these autumnal effects 
that I wish to secure proper employment for alders, 
birches, oleasters, and willows. 

Do you know^ the oleaster or Elceagnus, especially 
Elceagn/us Iwrtensls f It is a vigorous, easily grown plant, 
and has that whitish or grayish-green so attractive in many 
coml)inations of foliage. All the oleasters, in fact, have 
more or less of these Avhitish tints, but Elceagnua hortensis 
is one of the best. 

For delicate, lovely variegations at all seasons of the 
year except winter, I know of nothing finer in its way than 



AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 129 

Spircpa Thunhergii. Its small golden green leaves have 
tlironghout spring and summer the most exquisite coloring. 
In fall, however, there is added a wonderful flush of pink 
that seems to me fine above all the tints of autumn. Such 
a plant should scarcely stand out on capes and promonto- 
ries of foliage among flashing reds and crimsons. Its deli- 
cate tints harmonize better with more neutral surroundino" 
colors, and accord generally with a more retired position. 

We find a more brilliant autumn shrub and therefore 
one to be planted more prominently in the Spiraea lyrtini- 
folia. The leaves of this plant are small and of a shining 
green, and hang on late in fall when they assume a deep-red 
color. It is a rapid-growing shrub and should be planted 
w^ell in the foreground about the base of some brilliant 
scarlet maple. 

Then the sumacs ! We all know them in fall by the 
roadside with their crimson leaves and great erect bunches 
of velvety, purple, and crimson seed vessels. Central Park, 
N. Y., has masses and territories of them planted in the 
most effective manner. All around the brilliant capes and 
headlands of our autumnal picture these plants prove in- 
valuable for strong red color. There is nothing neutral 
about them. They are steeped in one deep pervading 
luxuriance of tint. But we need not content ourselves with 
even their excellent beauty, for have we not their grander 
relatives, near cousins, more deeply crimson, if possible, and 
of finer form and aspect ? I refer to Rlius glabra laciniata 
and Rhvs Oshechii. One of these, the former, is a well- 
known though choice lawn plant, curiously and distinctly 
cut-leaved. The latter, the most effective of all, Rhus 



130 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 

Oshechii, the Chinese sumac, has ah'eacly beeu mentioned 
incidentally. It is as much of a tree as a shrub, and may 
very pi'operly head a mass of shrubbery thrown out here 
and there from the general grouping of trees. 

Nor must we forget to use in our groupings for autumn 
eilect, the rich crimson wood of the red-stemmed doo:wood 
amid the soft browns and grays or brilliant greens of other 
foliage. 

The yellow of the golden willow is also brilliantly effec- 
tive in such combinations. The importance of tints and 
forms of naked branches in producing lovely effects in fall 
must never be overlooked. 

For characteristic sti'ength and rigidity of outline the 
purple berberry is also one of these plants remarkable on the 
lawn in fall for other qualities than color. The purple ber- 
berr}^, however, has much rich color on its leaves in fall. 
For more delicate and exquisite variegations of red among 
shrubs, however, we must turn to the Japanese 'polymor- 
phum maples. Nothing can be more lovely than their 
tints in autumn, except the tints of the same plant in June. 
As an effective feature on the point of some shrub group 
intended for autumnal effect, few plants can e(j[ual and none 
surpass these Japanese maples. 

Yet variety of effect in lawn-planting for autumnal 
beauty need not stop hei-e. There are whole genera of 
red- or yellow-berried plants which are very striking and 
effective even at a little distance. First and foremost are the 
JEMony7nuses, with brilliant scarlet four- or five-hooded seed- 
vessels that hang on far into November, and even Decem- 
ber. A good specimen of LJuonymus latifolius, for instance, 



AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN 131 

presents one of the most splendid sights of the year, with 
its dark-green foliage literally studded with scarlet or 
crimson fruit. The European Euonymus and its varieties 
display the finest masses of color, although the American 
kinds bear very attractive fruit. Both countries have 
sorts that turn purple in fall notwithstanding the fact that 
the prevailing hue of the genus is green until very late. 

There are also bush honeysuckles, mountain ashes, the 
black alder, Ilex verticillata, and the snow-ball, Viburnum 
lantana^ all remarkable for their brilliant crimson or orange 
berries. Very remarkable, too, is the snowberry or Sym- 
phoricarpus racemosus bearing clusters of snow-white waxen 
fruit. The dark-purple berried Indian currant, Si/mphori- 
carpus vulgaris^ is less i-emarkable though veiy attrac- 
tive. CalUcarpa 'purpurea^ with steel-blue l)ead-like ber- 
ries, is also very pretty in autumn. Mahonias have small 
brio^ht-blue seed-vessels in autumn, and such broad, shinins:, 
picturesque foliage that no well appointed shrubbery can 
afford to neglect them. The little broad picturesque Ber- 
ber is Thunhergii has also charming autumn tints and bright- 
red beiTies. 

Nor should we forget the lovely effects accomplished 
by climbing vines in fall. Most remarkable for color and 
vigor is the Virginia creeper or AmpelopsU in all is forms. 
The crimson garlands it wreathes about the naked or dead 
trunks of prominent trees are very effective, because so con- 
centrated and so distinctly contrasted with adjacent sombre 
coloring. More beautiful, if possible, than our Virgmia 
creeper is its near relative Ampelopsis VeitcMi or tricuspi- 
data of Japan. This vine is unquestionably the finest of 



132 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN 

all climbers in fall. The outline of its leaves and the 
lustre of its tints at all seasons of the year are very- 
beautiful, but in fall its subtle hues of red and green 
are positively unsurpassed in their way. 

Celastrus scandens, the common bitter-sweet, is well 
worth planting for autumn effect at the base of dead or 
naked trunks. It is often brilliantly crimson and grows 
vigorously, bearing rich orange-colored berries. 

In thus dwelling on certain plants suitable for produ- 
cing fine autumnal colors, I have not attempted to describe 
the entire list. It is enough that those enumerated consti- 
tute a rich collection of lovely colors. Autumnal nature 
leaves us splendidly. Her falling robes are gathered about 
her in such a regal fashion, and amid such pure airs and 
tender skies, that it hardly seems right to mourn for her. 
The sadness of her passing away is forgotten in the effect 
of her proud splendor and the certainty of her resurrection 
in a few months. 

Is it not somewhat strange that these effects and combi- 
nations are seldom attempted on the lawn. An army with 
banners on the greensward could hardly be more impres- 
sive than such scenes if approached for the first time. I 
think, moreover, the magnificence of these effects is intensi- 
fied by the uncertainty that attaches itself to their yearly 
recurrence. No one has fathomed the laws that regulate 
their development. It is not frost, nor dry weather, nor 
rain exactly that favors their greatest brilliance. Doubtless 
maturity and decay are the main factors in their production, 
yet some years we hardly find them at all, and again the 
glow will burst upon us when we least expect it, and when 



3n I 



AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN 133 

the character of the maturity and decay would lead us to 
look for prevailing dulness. 

Enjoyment of bright color in peculiar combination I 
believe to be the keynote of the bulk of all this autumnal 
pleasure found in the changing hues of trees. No painter, 
therefore, should prize color effects more highly than the 
lawn-planter, nor seek to compose more artistically the tints 
at his command. The limitations of his picture are per- 
haps broader, more subtle, and less defined than those of 
the painter, but very much the same in kind. He cannot per- 
haps count on results years hence, as the painter can on the 
effect of the strokes of his brush, but nature helps him more 
generously in the management of his material. The lawn- 
planter may place himself implicitly under the control of na- 
ture's wonderful processes, and by simply working on natur- 
al principles he will attain the most delightful results. They 
will not be exactly woodland scenes that have at times start- 
led him by their solemn, luxuriant grandeur. Yet, consisting 
as they do of cultured and dignified specimen plants congre- 
gated together on the same principles as those of the woods, 
they will suit better the association of the home circle. If 
we could have the bit of attractive autumn woodland trans- 
ferred entire just as it was to our very doors we would not 
like its unkempt condition. The more artificial scene re- 
ferred to would suit us, very properly, far better. We must 
remember that good lawn-planting must be founded only 
on nature's methods of accomplishing similar effects ; in a 
word, the spirit of our new work, as already remarked, 
though ever so natural, must be cultured and dignified, in 
proper accord with that of our best homes. 



134 AUTUMNAL COLOR ON THE LAWN. 

To sum up, we do not want a Persian rug on our autumu 
lawns, nor a hap-hazard, inartistic dotting about of plants. 
Much less do we want a wild wood about our doors at any 
time. But we do want solid backgrounds of greens, and 
browns, and grays, intermingled with naked branches. The 
richer colors we need on outer boundaries, and flashing bits 
of red or yellow, singly or on prominent points, and beyond 
all, up to the very house, broad stretches of greensward. 




m^^P^'/^t^i 



CHAPTER VIII. 

LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 




LE ARLY preconceived effects are con- 
trived for spring and summer, both 
on parks and lawns. Outline and 
form, singly and in mass, have a fair 
degree of attention paid them during 
these seasons, but combinations of 
color attract less attention during 
even the " perfect days of June." Later on, as summer hues 
fade, still less thought is given to securing renewed beauty 
of foliage and flower by employing such plants as are 
specially fine in August and September. Such plants may 
indeed be set out, but this is seldom done with a conscious 
intention of prolonging the season of beautiful foliage, or of 
producing distinct compositions. In autumn, finally, two 
specially charming objects may be and sometimes are sought 
in the use of plants. One looks to the retention of a rich, 
healthy, green foliage as late as possible by means of cer- 
tain oaks, beeches, elms, and golden and green conifers, 
while another employs the won<lerful crimson and gold 

^35 



136 LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 

tints of maples, liquidambars, sumac, etc., to construct the 
lovely pictures naturally peculiar to the season. 

I am sorry to say, liowever, that we find the last essay 
made in the most tentative manner. Most people who at- 
tempt the experiment are satisfied with a scarlet maple or 
two, or a liquidambar. It seems hardly to have entered 
tlieir minds that in thus combining on the lawn unrivalled 
autumnal color they have at hand possible mass effects of 
tlie finest character. They look witli pleasure in fall at 
glades of oak, pepperidge, and maple entwined with blood- 
red Virginia creepers, and never think of analyzing the 
composition of the charming effect, much less seek to develop 
the same thing, as it were, on their lawns. It is this apathy 
in regard to a thousand natural charms that ask for recog- 
nition at our very doors that impels me to consider briefly 
one department of this subject, namely, the production of 
domestic winter landscape. I choose it because, after the 
varied attractions of June, lawn-planting for winter effect 
seems to me worthy of more distinct treatment tlian that of 
either of the other seasons. 

A portion of the lawn which can be seen as a picture 
through the frame made by the outline of a certain window 
sliould be so planted that it will always be sure to present 
a delightful scene during tlie varied changes of winter, 
when one is necessarily kept within doors more than in 
summer. Nor need there be any detriment wrought to the 
general character of the lawn by this limited operation, if 
only a broad, systematic treatment be maintained every- 
where on all parts of the place. 

Let us, then, look out upon our lawn, and see where and 



LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 137 

how we can best produce the desired result. I assume that 
most of us possess lawns of limited dimensions ; in the case 
of the larger lawns, their treatment may be considered by 
regular experts. The small landholder, howevei', with his 
few hundred square feet of land, must generally bestow 
such treatment as he can give himself, with the help of in- 
ferior labor. Moreover, a thousand are interested in small 
holdings where one possesses or cares for the grand estate. 

Most houses have several windows, any one of which 
may be selected for the frame of our winter picture. Other 
things being equal, the window should be chosen that looks 
out on the bleakest part of the lawn, or in some direction 
where objects would otherwise be visible which it is desir- 
able to screen. In either case, it will be found that ever- 
greens, of which all artificial winter landscapes should be 
more or less composed, serve to modify and render cosey 
bleak places, as well as to hide unsightly details. Fre- 
quently this point lies on the northwest part of the grounds. 
Complete unity, however, must exist between the treatment 
of this and other sections of the lawn ; otherwise every- 
thing will have a loose, straggling, semi-detached look, as if 
the plants had happened together by chance, and were not 
at all sure that they were worthily treated or comfortably 
situated. 

The general outline of the masses of foliage will natu- 
rally be made coincident with the boundary lines of the 
property, except as glimpses without are desired ; so that 
when we use the larger evergreens they will very properly 
occupy the background of the picture. In other words, 
their i-ich, solid mass will make a bold and suitable foil, 



138 LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 

both sumuier aDtl winter, for the more delicate tints and 
outlines of smaller evergreen and deciduous plants. For 
this, indeed, is one of the peculiar features of our winter 
lawn : that it uses deciduous plants, plants devoid of foliage, 
as freely as evergreens, in the winter picture. 

Nothing in the woods can surpass the sweej3ing grace of 
fold on fold of snow swathing the dark, drooping branches 
of the hardy spi'uces that make up the mass of the back- 
ground. Pine and hemlock may alternate now and then 
with Norway S23ruces, and vary the charm of this back- 
ground with the bright green or bluish tints of the former 
and the peculiar light bluish-gray of the latter The pines, 
especially those of the mughus species, stand firm, rugged, 
and strong, and the long blue needles of the white pine lend 
Just sufficient variety of tone to satisfy the eye. For grace 
nothing can surpass the hemlock, which readily retains in 
its folds sweeping wreaths of snow or diadems of icicles. 

Rich mass, ^rm outline, and evergreen tints of the 
greatest variety characterize the view thus far considered 
from the window. But we have only begun to analyze 
the many possible and varied effects. Broad spaces of 
grass slope up to the house in front, and, although not 
green, serve to establish a sufficient distance to permit the 
arrangement of a middle-ground as well as a foreground and 
a background. This middle-ground is always to me the 
most charming j^art of any section of the lawn. Elsewhere, 
mass or extreme detail obscures one's best conception of 
any beautiful plant. In the middle-ground, the really 
choice plant offers itself to the eye with the most inviting 
effect. Its weak points are thus somewhat hidden, and its 



LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 139 

charms are enlianced twofold by the distance that here just 
suffices, not only to lend enchantment to the view, Ijut to 
give an adequate impression of the })lant considered as a 
whole. The jDlants that stand nearest the evergreen back- 
ground are evergreen also, both because they are allied by 
nature, and because they appear most bold and character- 
istic seen at a little distance from the house. One excep- 
tion to this arrangement may be elTectively made by 
interspersing among the evergreens white birches, the 
value of which can hardly be overestimated in any lawn- 
planting, and in winter, ornamentally considered, they are 
almost indispensable. Notice the striking effect of the deli- 
cate, gleaming white stems placed here and there directly 
aofainst the dark backs-round of evero:reens, and surrounded, 
perhaps, by fields of snow and ice. See how the contrast 
brightens the whole scene, and how curiously the white 
trunks and graceful drooping branches bear snow wreaths 
or icicles, each in its own characteristic way. A solid back- 
ground of evergreens presents much variety of rich color, 
blue, green, and silver, but the whole effect is, as it were, 
punctuated by these white birches. Nature uses the 
birches most delightfully in many a woodland winter scene, 
and our lawn is, we find, greatly improved by the free use 
of this artistic i-esource. But our attention is specially 
claimed by the specimens occupying the middle-ground. 
Here, too, we find a fair admixture of evergreen trees ad- 
visable. The evergreens disposed near the foreground are 
of medium, and in some cases of dwarf size, but always of 
interestino; character, well fitted to make sino-le features on 
the lawn. 



140 LA WN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 

First and foremost is the Nordmann's silver iir, broad 
and massive, witli sliiuing silvery leaves, — in every way a 
hardy, slow-growing evergreen, of noble outline and special 
symmetry. Though grand and impressive, it needs intelli- 
gent pruning, and for successful transplanting, a fibrous 
condition of roots that can be secured by frequent 
removal in the nursery and systematic root-pruning. The 
same remark applies to all silver firs, which are in many 
senses the finest evergreens for producing winter pictures. 
There is the silver fir (Aides amahilis), lovely, both by 
name and nature, and the still finer (Ahies nohilis), of 
unsurpassed blue tints. Hudson's Bay silver fir, of the 
same genus, is one of the darkest, hardiest, and most 
dwarfed species, specially fitted for the outskirts of groups, 
or for dotting here and there in isolated positions. Par- 
sons' silver fir (Ahies ParsonsU) has wonderful leaves, 
always curling upward, long, and of a delicate bluish-green 
color. The so-called dwarf silver fir (Ahies compacta), an 
intermediate form between Hudson's Bay silver fir and 
Nordmann's fir, is especially noteworthy for hardiness, sym- 
metry, and compact elegance. It should be one of the 
most popular of evergreens. 

Then, among the larger forms, we note the Grecian 
silver fir, very fine and lighter-colored. The weeping silver 
fir is the type, perhaps, of the statuesque in the family. 
Intelligently pruned, it develops into a solid weeping col- 
umn of dark green. But here, as with all silver firs, if we 
are to get a compact growth below, the leading or top shoot 
must be pinched off from time to time during May or 
June. If possible or, rather, if not incongruous with the 







ORIENTAL SPRUCE. 

'PICEA ORIENTALIS. ) 



142 LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT 

remaining j)art of tlie com^x^sitiou, it is \vell to place each 
of these species, firs, spruces, and the like, by themselves. 
Spruces we used to make up the mass of the backgi'ound ; 
but then there are spruces not only adapted for this pur- 
230se, but suitable for general planting in the middle-ground, 
and even for the most distinguished positions as objects of 
special interest in the foreground. Any one looking at the 
dense round or hemispherical shape of the Gregory spruce, 
and at the taller though slow-growing colunmar foi'm of 
the weeping spruce, would scarcely believe that this and 
the common Norway spruce are so closely akin. The blue 
tint of the Colorado spruce ( Picea pungens ) shows capacity 
for varying color that is most invaluable for winter effect. 
Alcock's spruce, from Japan, has also lovely variegations 
of yellow, silver, and green, and the tiger-tail spruce (Picea 
polita), from the same country, is rigid, yellow, and charac- 
teristic, and hardy and fine in many ways. 

The Oriental spruce is perhaps the most desirable of all 
the spruces for both winter and summer landscape. Its 
shining dense masses are remarkably hardy and striking. 
It belongs rather in the background, as somewhat larger in 
habit than the others. Nor should we neglect the beautiful 
American white spruce, hardy, dense, and richly colored. 
It grows more slowly than the common Norway spruce, but 
eventually attains sufficient size to associate it more or less 
with that evergreen. The most noteworthy spruces, how- 
ever, for winter-landscape effects are the weeping hemlock 
spruce and the weeping Norway spruce. The foi'mer is a 
charming evergreen, graceful and picturesque^ with soft 
curving lines. Its light color and delicate tendrils give it 



LAWN-PLANTING FOR WhVTER EFFECT. 143 



an almost feminine appearance. The rugged, strong out- 
line of the weeping Norway spruce, on the other liand, 
offers the greatest con- 
trast to the habit of 
this hemlock, and de- 
lights the eye, espe- 
cially in winter. The 
long branches of this 
slow - growing ever- 
green droop and hug 
the stem in most per- 
sistent fashion, now 
and then curling up 
eccentric shoots, 
which, afford conven- 
ient lodgment for the 
snow. Both these 
striking evergreens 
should occupy the 
middle-ground of the 

picture in specially effective positions. A cedar of Leb- 
anon, w^here a cedar of Lebanon can be coaxed to grow, is 
also a prize on the winter lawn. 

Among the pines we find, perhaps, our most lovely and 
refined winter colors, but to establish pines upon the lawn 
is not always easy. Unless transplanted frequently in the 
nursery, pines develop naked roots, hard to remove wdth 
safety. The spruces and arbor vitass act better, but silver 
firs and pines are, to say the least, troublesome in this 
respect. The most lovely })ine, to me, in winter is the 




WEEPING NORWAY SPRUCE AND DWARF PINE. 

(PICEA EXCELSA INVERTA AND PINUS STROBUS COMPACTA.) 



144 LA WN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 



Bhotan pine (Pinus excelsa). It presents such pictu- 
resque open masses, and the leaves are so long and deli- 
cately green that the 
eye dwells on its 
varied outlines with 
exceeding pleasure. 

Then there is the 
Swiss stone pine 
(P. cemhra)^ bluish- 
green, and extremely 
striking in ^vinter, 
as well as extremely 
hardy. Among the 
dwarf pines such 
forms are notewoi'thy 
as the dark muglmis 
and miigJius corripacta^ 
the finely tinted light- 
blue dwarf white 
and the more 




CEDAR OF LEBANON. 

(CEDRUS LIBANI.) 



pme, 



yellow and rounder dwarf Scotch. Mughus imcinata is also 
striking, and, although dwarf, quite erect in habit. The 
large-growing pines massed in the background among the 
other large spruces are peculiarly varied in color and form, 
and often very beautiful, laden with snow and ice. Dark, 
massive Austrian pines should have their forms displayed 
somewhat more prominently than the rest, while the deli- 
cate-hued and more sparsely-branched white pines should 
be grouped directly with the Norway spruces, for the sake 
of artistic breadth coml)ine(l with interesting variety. 



LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 145 



Hemlocks also mass well in the background, their lighter 
colors and more graceful forms relieving the sombre char- 
acter of the adjoining 
spruces. 

In the outskirts 
of groups and rather 
in the foreground, 
we should find choice 
plants, such as the 
rare and exquisite 
golden Japanese or 
sun-i'ay pine ( Pimis 
Massoniana variega- 
ia), with its rich and 
permanent yellow, so 
striking in fall and 
winter, and the slow- 
growing and extreme- 
ly I'are Japan parasol 
pine ( Sciadopitys ver- 
ticillata), a highly prized and strange-looking tree, with 
dark green foliage growing in distinct Avhorls. Nor should 
we forget to plant in such positions the lovely Japanese 
retinospora.% of delicate, fern-like appearance and unexcelled 
hardiness of habit. 

Such plants form the intermediate shadings or half tones 
of the picture, presenting as they do in winter the most 
delightful tints of brown, green, and gold. It should be 
remembered that the winter coloring of evergreens is very 
different from that of summer. In manv cases, like that of 




BHOTAN PINE. 

(PINUS EXCELSA.) 



146 LA WN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT, 

the arbor vita3, tliese ^viute^ tints are dull and uninviting, 
for which reason, in spite of the custom to the contrary, I 
do not much fancy their employment for winter effects. 
But the retinos])oras are, if anything, more lovely in winter 
than in summer, especially in their mingling of brown and 
gold. The really golden retiyiosporas have a pure yellow 
color in winter, very delightful from the fresh contrast it 
affords to the neutral tints of the surrounding scenery. 

Of like character is the l^ronze gold of biota elegan- 
tissima atirea, a Chinese golden arbor vitte, Thei'e is a kin- 
ship in the appearance of retinosporas and arbor vit;es, in 
which the former have greatly the advantage in varied 
beauty ; but we will do well to employ the golden bronze . 
of the elegantissima arbor vit;^ ^vhenever we can give it a ■ 
little favoring protection from cold, which is fortunately not 
needed for the retinospoi'as. There are exquisite Ijluish- f 
tinted junipers, also, erect and torch-like in sha})e, the gi'ace- 
ful lines and forms of which can be ill spared from any part 
of the lawn planted for winter effect. 

The regular evergreen shrubs cannot, of course, be ne- 
glected. Rhododendron foliage is broad, massive, and 
shining, one of the most effective features in winter on any 
lawn. The mahouias, though very different in many ways, 
have the same general effect, and should be employed, 
though always with the knowledge that they will fre- 
quently winter kill, that is, become deciduous, for they 
rarely die from cold. Masses of these mahonias shine and 
glisten in winter, and are altogether so line that we must 
have them, notwithstanding their weakness. The tree box 
18 also rich, solid, and very attractive dui'ing the cold 




MUQHO PINE. 

(PINUS MUGHUS. ) 



148 LA WN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 



months, although not always very liardy in the Northern 
States. It is an old plant, V)ut merits, especially planted 
singly, the very highest consideration. 

Cotoneanter or Cratwgus pyracantlia, the evergreen thorn, 
whether used for hedges or as a single plant, is always 




1 



GINKGO TREE, IRISH YEWS, AND WEEPING SOPHORA. 

peculiarly beautiful in winter. Its low, dense masses of 
red bronze leaves, small and regularly formed, present a 
diversity of contour of the most pleasing character. Some- 
times a large mature plant lives through many winters with 
its shining, bright-green color unreddened by the faintest 
touch of frost. 




JAPAN PARASOL PINE. 

(SCIADOPITYS VERTICILLATA.) 



150 LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT 

The Irish yew, in a sheltered phice, is also invaluable 
for winter effect. 

I have far from exhausted the list of evergreens suitable 
for our picture, but have mentioned enough to give rich and 
abundant color and form to a landscape otherwise dead and 
lifeless. We must take care not to forget, in this analysis 
of the constituents of charming winter effects on the lawn, 
to consider the many beautiful forms and even colors of 
naked stems and bare l)ranches of deciduous trees. It has 
been already noted how finely white-stemmed birches con- 
trast with the background of evergreens, not only in color, 
but in delicate variety of form. 

In like manner we have effects produced by other de- 
ciduous plants standing singly or in groups by themselves, 
or, under certain circumstaD'-es, in the immediate neighbor- 
hood and outskirts of evergreens. What can be richer in 
color, for instance, than the numerous crimson shoots of the 
red-stemmed dogwood ( Coi'iiiiH sanguinea) ? Then wq may 
have intermixed with it, or at least planted in close neigh- 
boi'hood, tlie golden willow, contrasting yellow stems with 
crimson ones. The ]'ed-twigged linden has fine reddish 
tints in winter on every portion of its current year's growth 
of wood, and the golden-barked linden is useful in color as 
contrast to the ""olden willow and red-stemmed dos^'wood. 

The trunk of the striped maple (Acer Pennsylvani- 
cum) is also very beautiful in ^vinter for its pink and 
green. This is not hardy everywhere in the United States, I 
although attractive in all places where it ^vill live. It is 
unnecessary to press the [)oint on observant lovers of trees ♦ 
that the forms of deciduous plants ai"e very attractive in 



I 




OBTUSE-LEAVED JAPANESE CYPRESS. 
(retinospora obtusa.) 



152 LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 

their winter guise. They look cold and poorly clad, it is 
true, but the broad solid tints of evergreens readily relieve 
this bleak effect. And how grand and ex(|uisite they are 
according to the nature of the tree, whether it be oak or 
birch, elm or beech ! Two of the finest oaks for our 
purpose are the over-cup and pyramidal, although of the 
numerous varieties none fail to be effective in their ^vinter 
habit. But the over-cup oak is specially striking on 
account of its rugged, grotesque twigs and branches, and 
the pyramidal for its bold, regular form and rapid gro\vth. 
Elms, too, with their intersecting Gothic lines, must not 
be forgotten in planting for winter ; neither the cork- 
barked variety nor ^vide-reaching weeping elm. 

The Japan ginkgo also throws out great arms or 
branches against a clear blue winter sky in the most eccen- 
tric manner. No less eccentric, but far more charming, are 
the noble masses of curled and drooping branches and 
twigs of the weeping Ijeech. No tree is more picturesque 
in winter, and no evergreen more grand and sti'iking. The 
tossing shapes and forms it assumes are myriad, and the 
play of color on the icicles it at times supports, is a wonder 
to behold. Its silhouette cut against the sky is remarkable 
for grace. The weeping sophora is also fine in winter, 
regularly curving downward, moi'e dwarfed and less odd 
than the weeping beech. Both of these last-named trees 
merit the choicest and most conspicuous positions on the 
lawn, and pei'haps the middle distance, a little to one side, 
suits their proper exhibition best. The strange, far-i-eaching 
bi'anches of the weeping larch, especially when laden with 
snow, are picturesque in the extreme. 



LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT 153 



We must be careful uhva^'.s to keep open considerable 
stretches of turf, endeavoring rather to flank than to cross 

with plants the direct line of 
_ vision throuii'li to the back- 




PARSONS' SILVER FIR, WEEPING NORWAY SPRUCE, AND WEEPINQ LARCH. 

ground. It should be our object ahvays to compose a 
pleasing landscape for winter by means of intelligently 
combined color and form, but never to forget the homely 



154 LAWN-PLANTING FOR WINTER EFFECT. 

needs of particular plants in the way of shelter and con- 
genial soil. Fifty feet square, or less, will enable one to 
have a lovely winter picture, provided the composer can 
give due consideration to each plant's physiology and 
possible artistic capacity, while fifty acres in the hands of 
even a genius, who is untutored, can hardly help producing 
abortive or overgrown effects at any season of the year. 
All this means, in short, that an artistic eye, sustained by 
a thorough knowledge and sympathetic management of 
plants, can make an inexpensive paradise of the smallest 
home lot even in mid-winter. 









^ - ' ^s?i-.->- 



.>:^" -^ 



CF-IAPTER IX. 

GARDEN FLOWERS. 



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HE lavvu we have defined as incliid- 
iug trees, shrubs, rocks, etc., and, 
above all, as specially essential, we 
have included mown or closely cut 
grass. AVe do not, therefore, find 
on the lawn a proper place set 
apart for flowers. They doubt- 
less bloom here, there, and every- 
where on existing trees, shrubs, and plants of all kinds. 
Forming a ver}' perceptible element of our enjoyment of 
the lawn, they do not, however, make an actual part of our 
lawn composition. It is the arrangement of foliage, of trees, 
and shrubs, and grass that should compose and characterize 
the lawn. Flow^ers there will doubtless be everywhere, on 
the trees and shrubs and along the bases of masses of 
foliage, where the hardy herbaceous plants will complete 
and accentuate the charming Junction of tree and shrub 
foliage with lawn grass. 

But I believe in making a distinct and comfortable 

155 



156 GARDEN FLO WERS. 



abode for flowers — in a word, a flower garden, and an old- 
fashioned one, if you choose to call it so. It should be one 
where everything conspires to favor the growth of flowers, 
so that one may gather them without stint. To look only 
at a tree or shrub satisfies the observer, but flowers, to 
be enjoyed to the full, must be plucked, their fragrance in- 
haled, and their beauty of detail admired at leisure. 

It would seem best, at this point, to explain what plants 
I mean to indicate as specially suited to a flower garden. 
They are what may be somewhat technically termed 
"hardy herbaceous perennial plants," herbaceous because 
their growth dies down during the winter and starts up 
the following spring, and perennial in contradistinction to 
annual and biennial, because they continue to live for years. 

It is, of course, easy to name shrubs and bedding plants 
that bear plenty of flowers, and there is certainly no valid 
objection to planting them in the flower garden. Her- 
baceous plants, however, can be so arranged as to furnish 
bloom from March to Christmas, and an abundance of it ; 
hence it seems to me that I am justified in recommend- 
ing them, for the most part, to su2:)ply the flower garden. 
There need be no hard and fast rules controlling the selec- 
tion, as there are many plants suited for the flower garden, 
such as hardy rose bushes, that we could not well do with- 
out. It is indeed the proper place in which to grow them. 

The method of growing herbaceous plants differs but 
little from that which applies to trees, shrubs, and bedding. 
Well-drained, rich, and mellow soil is alike congenial to all. 

As to the l)est method of arranging herbaceous plants 
and the most suital^le site for a flower o^arden, I shall take 



GARDEN FLO WERS. 157 

tlie liberty of leaviDg that for cousicleration in a subsequent 
chapter. Suffice it to say that, as a rule, the flower garden 
should be arranged somewhere by itself, masked by trees 
and shrubs, so that it may not interfere with the unity, 
breadth, and simplicity of effect of the lawns and tree and 
shrub plantations. The number of the species and varieties 
of hardy herbaceous plants is legion. I could not in one 
chapter, of reasonable length, begin to discuss all that are 
worthy of mention. Since, however, the object of this 
writing is rather to suggest and stimulate to farther re- 
search than to exhaust the subject, I will content myself 
with describing a few of the best known and most easily 
obtained kinds. As one of the chief requisites of a flower 
garden is abundant bloom throughout the season, I purpose 
to consider briefly the spring, the early summer, the late 
summer, and the autumn flowers. 

One of the greatest surprises and delights of the year is 
the first discovery of a wild flower in March. It should be 
understood, however, to j^revent disappointment, that the 
season of blooming gets much mixed during some years. 
Early kinds will not appear until well-known later ones 
have arrived, but the general relation of the bloom will be 
in the main as I shall give it. 

There are few plants in the border that show bloom 
earlier than the winter heath (Erica herhacea carnea). It 
is an old plant, but unfortunately one that has been little 
used in this country. The habit is low and spreading, and 
the flowers appear in March with the first budding of vege- 
tation. Red flowers hano- on their branches in racemes. A 
lovely little plant that also comes in March during many 



158 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



years is the bluets (Houstonia caeridea). It is common 
enouffli ill the fields and woods of maDv localities of 
America, but is none the less well deserving of cultiva- 
tion. In height it only reaches about four inches, and the 
flowers are small, light blue, i)ale lilac, or often almost 
white, showing a yellowish eye. It is a dainty flower, and 
does well in the front part of the l)order or in rock-work. 
Saxifraga cordlfolia (heart-leaved saxifrage) is one of the 

earliest of plants. Indeed, it some- 
times blooms so early in March 
that the flowers are injured l)y late 
ss^^i^^^^ frosts, Ijut to this danger all very 
^^'^'■M^^^£^ early flowers must be more or less 
ex23osea. it is a curious-looking 
plant, this saxifrage, when in bloom. 
The thick, fleshy roots beai' a 
cluster of large heart-shaped, thick 
HEART-LEAVED SAXIFRAGE. evei'greeu Icaves, from the centre 

(saxifraga cordifolia.^ p ^ ' ^ • • i 

oi which arises, m early spring, a 
large naked stem, bearing at the top a spreading cluster 
of bell-shaped, rose-colored flowers. In height it is some- 
times a foot. 

Few plants give more delight on their first arrival in 
spring, and afterwards until October, than the violets, the 
bird's-foot violets of the United States ( Viola pedata). 
They are much prized in Europe, and should be ecpially 
valued here. The dark-green leaves are handsomely cut, and 
the pale or deep blue flowers, an inch across, are very abun- 
dant and showy, although only four or five inches high. The 
pansy bird's-foot violet ( V. iJedata var. hicolor ) is a rare and 




GARDEN FLOWERS. 



159 




MOSS PINK. 
(phlox subulata.) 



showy variety, and l)eai's flowers an inch and a half across, 
and of the deepest velvety purple. Very charming in 
early spring are the dwarf 
phloxes ( Phlox suhulata). It 
is like moss, no higher than 
the bndding grass, and has 
myriads of small pink flo^vers 
with darker centres. Great 
masses on the rocks at Central ^|j^ 
Park along the east and west 
drives make foi' visitors one 
of the most delightful sur- 
prises of early spring. One 
valuable quality of tliis phlox 
is that it will flourish on the 
smallest amount of soil directly on the edge of rocks. 
There is a fine, pure white flowering variety, iiwalis^ 
that also deserves general emplo^anent. Phlox amcena is 
another fine pink species that grows somewhat higher. 

The hardy columbines in the season of bloom are all 
specially attractive. In early spring we have the Canada 
columljine ( Aquilegia Canadensis), showing abundant red 
and yellow flowers. This is a showy and effective plant, and 
should be planted in evevj arrangement of l)edding plants. 
It is particularly effective on rock-work. It grows one to 
three feet high. Some of the anemones, or Avind-flowers, 
come early in the spring, bearing blue and white flowers 
six to eight inches high, like Caroliniana and nenioi'osa of 
the United States. A. imtens var. NuUalliana, a native 
American plant of considerable value, is one of the largest 



160 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



flowered blue varied species. Anemone Pulsatilla, Euro- 
pean pasque-flower, has finely cut leaves and solitary dark 

shaggy, purple flowers. 
Anemone sylvestris, snow- 
drop wind - flower, has 
pure white flowers, two 
inches across, and blooms 
in April and May, and 
sometimes all summer. 
It is only a foot high 
and is charming. All 
these species grow about 
eight to ten inches high. 
Alyssuni saxatile (golden 
tuft), a close relative of 




EUROPEAN PASQUE-FLOWER. 

(anemone PULSATILLA.) 



rock-candy tuft, comes 
very early in spring, has 
curious gray-green leaves and quantities of bright yellow 
flowers. It comes from the mountains of Southern Europe, 
and grows about a foot high. Its low" compact masses are 
excellent for rock-work. Adonis vernalis (spring adonis) 
is a showy early spring-flowering plant with yellow flowers 
two or three inches across and finely cut leaves. It comes 
from Europe, and grows from ten to twelve inches high. 

There is a class of herbaceous plants that grow in close, 
low tufts that should be used throughout a mass of such 
plants as a kind of carpet. Dwarf phlox and alyssum are 
such plants, and performing this ofiice in a still more marked 
degree, comes Areiiaria verna. It is the spring sandwort, 
a low tufted plant, two to four inches high, \vith numerous 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



161 



white flowers in early spring. Rough usage has little effect 
on this plant, and a turf might be made of it that would 
stand much better than grass the wear and tear of passing 
multitudes. It would, moreover, endure unharmed almost 
any droughts. Arahls alpina (alpine-rock cress) is a 
spring-flowering plant about six inches high that would 
also luake a good carpet in a group of herbaceous plants. 
Its small flowers are ^vhite and profuse, and there is a varie- 
gated-leaved form that is also attractive. The foliage of the 
ajugas is also suited for the carpet effect, although some of 
them when in flower are nearly a foot high. The blue 
flowers are not nearly so valuable as the dense mat of 
foliage. There is one species — reptans alha and rubra — 
white- and red-leaved bugle — that is particularly valuable 
on account of its dark purple mats of leaves four to six 
inches high. 

The aubrietias are valuable low-growing plants that 
bloom in early spring. There are half a dozen or more 
kinds havino; dwarf-tufted habits that more or less fit them 
foi' the carpet effect. 




The flowers are gen- 
erally of a Iduish- 
purple shade, except 
A. Leichtlinii, which 
has a bright I'ose- 
colored bloom. Au- 
brietias look well 
planted in masses 
among rocks. Another pretty spring-blooming plant, suit- 
able for carpet effect, is the mouse ear ( Ceraatiimi Bieher- 



STEMLESS GENTIAN. 

(gentiana acaulis. ) 



162 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



steinii). It forms dense mats of bright green foliage, six 
to eight inches high, and is covered with white flowers in 
early spring, Cer^astium tomentosum is still better suited 
for a carpet plant. It is a very dwarf, woolly plant, grow- 
ing one to three inches high, and bearing small white 
fl.owers. The pretty stemless gentian ( Gentiana acatdisj is 
an alpine plant, one to three inches high. It forms a mass 
of leathery leaves, and bears in early May flowers of a vase 

form, two inches long 
and blue in color, as 
no other flower but a 
gentian can be. It is 
admiral)le for rock- 
work, makes a good car- 
pet, and is altogether a 
fji charming plant. Avery 
pretty dainty plant, six 
to eight inches high, is 
the EpiTnediuni, bloom- 
ing in May. It is hardly, 
however, suited for car- 
pet purposes. The foli- 
age is neat, but not 
massive enough, and 
does not grow in tufts 
or mats. The airy clus- 
ters of purplish and yellow flowers of quaint shape also 
unfit it for a carpet. It should be planted among rocks or 
by itself, where its charms will be a little protected. Its 
common name is barrenwort, and it is an alpine plant. 




ALPINE BARRENWORT. 

(epimedium alpinum.) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



163 




ASTILBE JAPONICA. 



The best species of the genus is macrcmtJtum^ from Japan, 
bearing pure white flowers. This species grows ten to 
fifteen inches high. 

A well-known plant in May and 
June is Astilhe Jajjonica, incor- 
rectly called Spiraea Japonica. It 
has interesting dark-green foliage, 
and quantities of upright growing 
spikes or clusters of creamy white 
flowers. It grows ten to twelve 
inches high, and is very attractive. 
Oorydalis nohilis is one of the 
finest ornamental herbaceous plants. 
The flowers, which appear in early spiing, in large heads 
on stout stems, are of a rich yellow color. It disappears 
altogether soon after flowering. Deep sandy loam suits it, 
where it will not be disturbed. It comes from Siberia. 
The wild ]:)ink, or Pennsylvania catchfly (Silene Penii- 

sylvanica), is to be commended as 
fj/j a spring flower. It grows four to 

eight inches high, bears numerous 
pink flowers, and is decidedly at- 
tractive. 

Every one has heard of the 
common wild English primrose 
(^P i'imida vulgaris), which produces 
sulphur-colored flowers in spring. 
Its beauty and associations natur- 
ally make it valuable to us, although it is seldom grown. It 
seems to stand our winters well, and if planted in half- 




NOBLE FUMITORY. 

(CORYDALIS NOBILIS.) 



164 



GA RDEN FL O WERS. 



shaded spots along banks and moist spots will doubtless 
stand our summers. 

Dicentra spectahilis, sometimes called Dielytra spectabilisy 
is one of the bleeding-hearts that appears in spring and 

blooms on into early 
summer. It is one 
of the best-known 
and most charmino* 
of herbaceous plants, 
with graceful, droop- 
ing racemes of heart- 
shaped flowers of 
rosy crimson and 
silvery white. It 
grows one to two 
feet high, and comes 
from Northern Chi- 
na. There are some 
pretty spring-bloom- 1 
ing irises, — cristata, the crested dwarf iris, is one of them. 
It is a little native plant growing only three to six inches 
high, with large pale-blue flowers. Then there is Iris 
pumila, a little taller, six to nine inches high, with 
yellow, white, and blue flowers in early spring. Iris verna 
(vernal iris) is another dwarf species, three to eight inches 
high, from the South, ^vith violet-blue flowers in May. It 
is very fragrant, and is a rare and desirable sort. All these 
little spring irises are well fitted for planting in rock-work. 
The spring meadow saffron ( B ulhoeodium vernum) is per- 
haps the earliest-flowering hardy bulb, and l^ears purple 




BLEEDING HEART. 

(dicentra spectabilis. ) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



165 




crocns-like flowers iu March aud April. Like all early- 
floweriug kinds, this bulb should be set out in the autumn. 
Anemone Hepatica, or Hepatica 
triloha (liver-leaf), is another early- 
blooming plant, that bears beautiful 
deep-blue flowers. It does particu- 
larl}' well in shaded rock-work and 
half-shaded spots in the border. It 
is hardy aud enduring, and well 
deserves employment. 

The o:enus narcissus has been spring meadow saffron. 

„ -, . n 1 1 (bULBOCODIUM VERNUM.) 

tor a long tune well known aud 

useful for spring blooming. The bulbs should be set 
out in fall, from September to December. Usually they 
will bloom satisfactorily for many years, in which case it 
will not, of course, be necessary for a long time to lift, 
divide, and re-set them. The cheaper sorts may be used 
effectively for naturalizing among shrubs, or planting in the 
grass, where they succeed better uncultivated than most 
other bulbs, on account of their hardy, enduring nature. 
There is something specially attractive in the use of bulbs 
iu this fashion, and particularly the early daffodils, " goldeu 
daffodils," as Wordsworth says, " tossing their heads iu 
sprightly dance," but after all, flowers really satisfy us better, 
and do better in the garden, where we can coax and tend 
them a little. Even the hardy daffodil in the sunny garden 
border, carefully tended, gi'ows better, and certainly looks 
well associated with congenial friends. It is, moreover, not 
only the old and common kinds which we may establish, but a 
great variet}' of other kinds no less beautiful, and distinct 



166 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



from the commou one. They will prolong the season of 
bloom, and give a fine variety of form. Of the bolder kinds 

suited for striking effects we 
should name Narcissus maximus, 
N. incom/parabilis and its forms, 
N. 'poeticus and its varieties (they 
succeed each other in blooming), 
N. odorus (the larger jonquil), 
tV. hicolor and the form nearly 
allied to it, N. cernuus. Not a 
few others would do, only avoid- 
ino; the Italian kinds and the 
alpine and Spanish sj^ecies. 

Of the types named, I will 
describe maximus, or trumpet 
maximus, as large, bright yellow, single, 
and very early ; inco77vparahilis, single 
orange phcenix, with large primrose-colored 
flowers having a sulphur 
crown ; there is another 
incomimrahilis which 
called butter and eggs, 
bearing flowers double, 
yellow, or sulphur with a 
crimson nectary ; i^oeticiis (poet's narcis- 
sus or pheasant's eye), flowers pure white 
with distinct red crown ; odorus (camper- 
nelle or fragrant jonquil), golden-yellow 
flowers ; hicolor, very large white flowers, Avith golden-yellow 
perianth ; and pseudo-narcissus (daffodil or daffodowndilly). 




POET'S NARCISSUS. 

(narcissus poeticus.) 




TRUMPET MAJOR. 

(narcissus major.) 



I 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



167 



A well-known and valued bulb for spring effect 
crocus. Members of this genus bloom in the fall, 
shall only speak of the spring- 
flowering kinds. 

They come so early in the spring, 
out of the very snow sometimes, 
that they are a surprise and delight 
to us. When the crocuses appear, 
spring seems to be actually at hand. 
They are white, purple, and yellow, 
but to me the yellow is most pleas- 
ing. There are several species in use 
in gardens, but they are variable and not 
to be depended on, so that it is as well 
to buy the mixed sorts and let them 
come up white, yellow, or purple, as they 
will. They should be planted two or 
three inches deep and close together, 
even an inch or two 
apart, to get their 
best effect. Every 
three or four years 
they require to be 
lifted and reset. 



is the 
but I 





FRAGRANT JONQUIL. 

(narcissus odorus.) 



They are charming 
|{ planted i n the grow- 
DAFFODiL. ing grass of greensward, but they run 

(narcissus pseudo-narcissus.) J. • J? 1 • 11 

out m a tew years, having a much less 
robust constitution than the daffodils, which often linger 
here and there in grass for many years. The best so-called 



168 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 




species are Crocus Susianus, Yello^^' and browu ; C. verimis, 
blue, purple, and white ; C. versicolor, white, lilac, purple, 
^\ and gray-striped. Hyacinths look well 

I in the flower garden during the spring, 
and last for years often, if well manured 
and cultivated. Tlie species, II. orien- 
talis, is the parent of the innumerable 
and brilliant varieties so largely imported 
from Holland to meet the demand for 
it in this country. Holland, \\e may say, 
CROCUS vERNus. fumlshcs bulbs for the world, whether 
tulips, crocuses, or hyacinths, or for that matter lilies too. 
There are special selections of unnamed sorts of hyacinths in 
different shades of blue, white, red, and yellow, made by 
nurserymen and seedsmen, and they may be procured in mix- 
ture or in separate colors, the mixed roots being less expen- 
sive. The different colors of hyacinths do not all bloom at 
one time, and for massing in mixtures, it is necessary to plant 
the bulbs at different depths, in order to have the display as 
nearly as possible simul- 
taneous in all its variety, j^ /5 ^^^ L^ 
Blue genei'ally comes 
first, and next in order, 
red, white, and yellow. 
Blues should therefore 
be planted deepest, say 
seven or eight inches, 
and the others propor- 
tionately shallower in their order. Usuall}' about six 
inches apart is suited to their growth. 




WINTER ACONITES. 

(eranthis hyemalis.) 



GARDEN FL O WERS. 



169 




THE SNOWDROP. 

• galanthus nivalis.) 



The glory of tlie suow, Cliioiiodoxa Lucilice, is a bull> 
from the mountains of Asia Minor. It grows from four to 
eight iuclies high, and in early spring 
is covered with spikes of the most 
beautiful sky-l)lue, ^vhite-centred flow- 
ers. Winter aconite ( Eranthis liyeina- 
lis), also bears beautiful bright-yellow 
flowers in early spring. But the ear- 
liest of all these early bulbs is the 
snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis and 
G. Ehoesii, bearing large bell-shaped 
white flowers, which often peep out 
in January. All these very early-l)l()omiug bulbs are 
specially attractive planted in the greensward, \vliere their 
charms are relieved by the first green of spring. Yet the 
border in the flower garden is the most congenial after all, 
the place where the best flowers bloom. 

Many of the irises are beautiful, but there are none more, 
delicately and daintily beautiful than 
the bulbous and tuberous-rooted species. 
Chief among these are the golden-netted 
irises (Iris reticulata ). The flowers are 
deep violet-blue, netted with fine golden- 
yellow lines. It is early l)looming, 
fragrant, and hardy. Iris Iherica 
(Chalcedonian iris) is a showy species 
with large rich purple flowers, beauti- 
fully veined, and spotted witli a black 
spot on each petal. It blooms somewhat later than Iri>i 
reticulata. There is a ^veil-known pomponian lily, Liliam 




SCARLET TURBAN LILY. 

Clilium pomponium.) 



170 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 




CRUCIANELLA STYLOSA. 



Po7nponiu7n, that blooms comparatively early in June. The 
flowers are pendulous, scarlet, and attractive. The plant 

comes from France and grows 
about three feet high, Crucia- 
nella stylosa is an ornamental 
plant, diffusively tufted with a 
j)rofusion of Aveak, straggling, 
procumbent stems clothed with 
^vhorls of six or more narrow 
lance-shaped leaves growing about 
a foot high. The flowers are 
borne in small but handsome 
terminal heads, and are bi-ight rose or pink, with long styles 
protruding conspicuously beyond the corollas. 

I propose now to consider some of the summer-flowering 
plants, the plants that commence to bloom in June or early 
July, and oftentimes continue in floM^er throughout the 
season. There are many, but we shall attempt to consider 
only a few. AcMllea toinentosa (downy yarrow), different 
from most herbaceous plants, displays striking and attractive 
foliage, but tlie flowers are pretty, and of a bright-yellow 
color. It is only six or eight inches high. The Aquilegias or 
columbines are always quaintly beautiful, and there are none 
more so than the summer-blooming ones. A. chrysantJui, tlie 
golden columbine, is probably the best, because it produces 
golden-yellow flowers all summer. Like all Aquilegias, the 
flowers have curious long spurs. ^4. ccendea (Rocky 
Mountain columbine) has charming blue and white 
flowers, and is only less valuable than chrysantlia because 
it does not bloom all summer. Both of these columbines 



GARDEN FLO WERS. 



171 



grow t\\'o to three feet higli. Jtquile(j(a ofdf/aris (Mun- 
stead giaut) is of garden oiigin, robust, growing three 
feet high, and producing pure white flowers in abundance. 
A-r7neria nuiritlTna., one of the sea pinks or thrifts, bears 
attractive rose-colored flowers and broad foliage about a 
foot high. 

Asperula odorata is the common woodruff of Northern 
Europe. It grows six to twelve inches high in dense tufts 
of slender stems with leaves mostly eight in a whorl, and has 
flat clusters of small white 
flowers in summer. When 
wilted this plant has the odor 
of new-mown hay. The Cam- 
pamolas or harebells are of 
course well known for their 
dainty beauty. They are all 
summer-flowering, but per- 
haps Camjpanula rotuiulifolla 
blooms somewhat earlier than 
some of the others. It is a 
beautiful native species, with, 
numerous deep-blue flowers. 
It grows only six to twelve 
inches high. To speak of the lily of the valley in praise, 
or dwell on its charms, would be superfluous, for all the 
world knows them. The dainty bloom pushes its white 
bells from the sheathing leaves during the latter part of 
May into June. 

And the no less dainty maiden's pink ( Dianthiis del- 
toides) comes in early summer also. It is an hund^le 




LILY OF THE VALLEY. 



172 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 




plant, six to nine inches liigb, and tlie 
bright-pink or white flowers, with the dark 
or white circle in the centre, ^(y\\ out of 
dense tufts of grassy leaves. Then there 
sweet-william of the gardens of 
earliei' days, Diantlius harhatus, 
with deep crimson flowers, and a 
height of one to two feet. Final- 
ly, there is Dianthus lylwmariiis^ 
rden pink or the cushion pink, forming 
tufts and bearing flowers with beauti- 
ringed petals and a delightfully fragrant 
It grows only six or eight inches high. 
icentra eximia (plumy bleeding-heart) is a 
n the Alleghany Mountains, nine to 
inches high, Avith leaves as graceful 
f a fern. The flowers are rose-colored, 
and a p p e a i' all 
summer, hanging in 
graceful racemes. 
The Dicentra spec- 
tahilis, scarcely less 
beautiful, comes 
e[{Y\\ev.Iheriscorrce' 
folia (corris-leaved 
perennial c a n d y 
tuft) is a ))eautifnl 
dwarf evergreen 
shrub, with large 



^XV/M. 



THE MAIDEN'S PINK (DIANTHUS DELTOIDES), AND THE NIEREMBERQIA pure whlte floWerS. 
RIVULARIS. 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



173 



The siiminer-flowering irises are also importaut. I mean 
those that bloom in early summer. The Florentine iris, or 
the orris root, belongs to this time. It bears large fragrant 
white flowers with a tinge of blue, and a l)right yellow- 
white tinged with pink or lilac ^vhen they have been open 
for some days. There are generally many flowers com- 
pletely covering the stem. The Siberian iris is tall with 
narrow leaves, and white and blue and delicate-veined 
flowers. Iris Siherica, var. luematophylla, is a very dark- 
leaved early flowering kind that often blooms the second 
and third time during the season. Linum "perenne^ the 
perennial flax, is attractive all summer, with its tufts of 
narrow folias^e and its bi'i£j:ht l^lue flowers, an inch or more 
across, which seem, on their slender stalks, semi-detached 
and floating. 

No garden would, of course, be complete without its 
peonies and tall phloxes. The herbaceous peonies present 
every shade of white, pink, rose, 
red, crimson, and dark purple 
amons: their scores of varieties. 
Their flowers ai'e perhaps the 
largest and most showy of any we 
are likely to plant in our garden, 
and make a great display at a dis- 
tance. I will mention one kind 
because it is so unique. Pceonia 
tenuifoUa, f.. pl.^ is dift'erent from 
all others on account of its abundant finely divided foliage, 
from the midst of which peer out large doul^le brilliant 
dark-red flowers. The tall phloxes to be seen in gardens 




HERBACEOUS FEONY. 

(P/EONIA OFFICINALIS.) 



174 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 




are usually tlie auuual kinds, but the herbaceous kind, 
P. Carolina^ bears beautiful pink-purple flowers, more than 

an inch across. It grows about a 
foot hiofh and blooms all summer. 
Phlox stella7'ia, starry phlox, is a 
similar free-blooming summer kind 
of about the same height that bears 
white flowers. 

The bachelor's-button ( Panun- 
^P^^ffiS'"-< mdus speciosus, fl. fl.)-, grows a foot 
o, .K.r^^r, ,.,>,,-^^ ..T^Mw \\\^, aud dlsphiys laro-e o-olden- 

SLENDER LEAVED PEONY. O ' i J & S 

(p/EONiA TENuiFOLiA, FL. PL.) ycllow flowers, iuvarlably double. 
Silene Virgiiiica (fire pink) is one of the finest catchflies, 
aud produces brilliant scarlet flowers, an inch or more 
in diameter, from June to August. It grows about a foot 
high. Statices are among the best and most desirable 
herbaceous plants. Their flowers are of long duration, 
and when cut and dried are eifec- 
tive for winter decoration, as they 
retain their color in a dried state. 
One of the best is Statice latifoUa. 
It bears in June immense panicles 
of bright blue flowers, often two 
feet across. Its native place is 
Southern Russia, and it only grows 
about a foot high. The familiar 
name of this type of plant is wound- 
wort. Meadow-rue or Thalictrimi, 
bearing large panicles of flowers in summer, presents one of 
its best effects in speciosum., a fine large yellow-flowered sort 



\ 




SEA LAVENDER. 

(STATICE LATIFOLIA. 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



175 



with handsome leaves which i-row three to five feet hiijrh. 
Other meadow-rues bear purple flowers, and still others 
white. One of these white species comes from Japan. The 
spiderwort ( Tradescantia VtrginicaJ is a native plant, valu- 
able chiefly for its continuous production during summer of 
its peculiar deep violet-blue flowers. Trollms Europeus, 
European globe-flower, is a pretty plant with large lemon- 
colored buttercup-like flowers, one to one and a half inches 
across, on long stems. It grows two 
feet high, blooms from June to Au- 
gust, and comes from Arctic Europe. 
There is a large double orange-colored 
species from Japan that blooms in the 
spring. Tunica saxifraga, rock Tuni- 
ca, is a delicate spreading dwarf plant 
that bears all summer a profusion of 
small rosy- white flowers. It grows 
six to ten inches high and is excel- 
lent as a carpet plant. Viola coninfa, 
horned violet, commences to bk^om in spring and lasts 
all summer. It is not unlike the common violet, and 
its prevailing tints are blue, purple, white, and yellow. 
It is a valuable violet for this special quality of continuous 
floweiing. 

Among the flowers that bloom still later in summer and 
even in early fall, I will mention the beautiful A ckilleas, or 
yarrows or milfoils. The Egyptian yarrow has silvery fern- 
like foliage and yellow flowers. It grows twelve to eigh- 
teen inches high. A.JlIlipendulina is a more vigorous showy 
species that displays golden-yellow flowers in dense, flat 




ROCK TUNICA. 

(tunica saxifraga.) 



176 



GARDEN FLO WERS. 




ACHILLEA PTARMICA. 



corymbs and lias attractive foliage. It grows two to 
three feet liigli and blooms from July to October, A. 

tnillefolmm roseuni, rose-colored 
milfoil, blooms all summer. The 
leaves are finely divided. It 
grows one to two feet high, A. 
\;\ Ptannica, ji. j^l-, sneezewort, is a 
showy species bearing pure white 
double flowers. It grows about a 
foot high. 

Anthemis tinctoria, the yellow 
chamomile, is one of the most 
desirable and showy hardy herbaceous plants. The 
flowers are golden yellow and one to two inches across. It 
o-rows from twelve to eis-hteen inches hisfh and blooms from 
July to November. Antliericum liliago^ St. Bernard's lily, 
grows one foot to one and a half foot high. The leaves 
are narrow-channelled, in con- 
siderable tufts. It produces 
lengthened racemes of pure white 
flowers all summer. The flowers 
are open and spreading. A. 
Liliastrum, St. Bruno's lily, differs 
from the last chiefly in producing 
larger flowers that are not spread- 
ing but bell-shaped. The Ascle- 
pias, butterfly weed, or swal- 
low-wort, is showy and effective 
in masses. It comes from North America. A. tuber osa 
is one of the best. It o-rows one to two feet hifrli. The 




YELLOW ASPHODEL. 

lASPHODELUS LUTEUS. ) 



GARDEN FL O WERS. 



177 



stem is branched above, and beai's numerous umbels of the 
most brilliant orange flo^vers in summer. 

The asphodels were always favoi'ite plants with the 
ancients in the earliest days of gardening. They have 




YELLOW CHAMOMILE. 

(aNTHEMIS TINCTORfA.) 



received deserved attention within a few years, after having 
been wellnigh lost to gardening. They come from South- 
ern Europe, have fleshy bundled roots, narrow leaves, and 
tall, simple, or branching stems which bear a great number 
of white or yellow lily-like flowers. ^4. luteus is one of the 



178 GARDEN FL O WERS. 

best varieties. It grows two to four feet liigli, aud has 
a dense, very long spike of fragrant yellow flowers which 
last a long time in summer. The asphodel luxuriates in 
rich, deep, moist soil ; and the stronger-growing species are 
fit subjects for naturalizing in open moist woods, aud by the 
banks of streams and pieces of water. 

There are many asters, and most of them flower from Sep- 
tember to November, and contribute largely to the beauty 
of the American autumn landscape. One or two species^ 
however, bloom earlier. A. aiuellus^ var. Bessarahicus 
(Russian starwort), one of the best and largest purple- 
flowered species, blooms in late summer and early autumn. 
It grows about eighteen inches high. ^4. lytavmicoides is 
a M^hite-flowered species, one to two feet high, also blooming 
in August and September. 

Bajytisia australis (blue false indigo) is from the 
Southern States, and grows two to five feet high. The 
foliage is handsome, and its dark-blue lupine-like flowers 
hang in racemes one to two feet long. A large clump is 
very fine, and lasts at least two months in summer. Col- 
lirrhoe involucrata (crimson mallow) is one of the most 
showy of crimson flowers. It is spreading in habit, and 
bears its large flowei's throughout the summer. The dainty 
harebells or bell-flowers (Campanulas) must not be forgot- 
ten. C. Carpatica, from the Carpathian Mountains, is one 
of the best. It is a handsome tufted plant about nine inches 
high. The leaves are heart-shaped, and toothed on the mar- 
gin, and the flowers, growing on long slender stalks, are 
large, broadly bell-shaped, and bright-blue. It flowers from 
June to September. 0. Caipatica has also a beautiful pure 






GARDEN FLO WERS. 



179 




AMERICAN SENNA. 
(cassia maryiandica.) 



white variety. Caxxia Marilandica (American senna), 
growing three to fonr feet high, is a native ]ilant well 
worth}' of a place in the garden, 
where it should have abundant 
room, as it forms very large and 
showy clumps. The light-green 
foliage is attractive, and the 
bright, yellow, oddly shaped flow- 
ers grow in abundant clusters 
throughout July and August. 
Most of the clematises ai-e climb- 
ers, but there are bush forms that 
make very attractive herbaceous 
plants. C. Da/vidia)ia Ijears large clusters of fragrant blue 
hyacinth-like flowers ; grows three feet higli, and is quite 
erect in habit. It blooms a lono; time durmij: summer. C. 
integrifolia is another erect s[)ecies, one to two feet high, 
with blue, very fragrant, solitary, nodding flowers one to 
two inches across, and blooming in July and August. O. 
recta (upright virgin's bower) is an old, well-known species, 
two to four feet high, with numerous white summer 
flowers. 

When any one speaks of larkspurs, my memory always 
-carries me back to a charmino^ old flower-srarden that I 
knew long ago in an old New England town. The larkspurs, 
or DelpliiniumB, make a numerous group, clearly marked and 
not easily confounded with either of their nearest relatives, 
the columbines, or monk's-hoods. A laro;e number of rather 
variable forms are comprised among them. Their style of 
growth is bold and striking, and blue and purple, purplish- 



180 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



red, and white comprise the sum of their colors. These 
colors, however, are so bright in most species and varieties 
that when considered along with the noble plume-like mode 
of flowering some astonishment may be fairly expressed 
that they have received so little employment. 

Delphiniimi elatum^ tall larkspur, grows five to six 
feet hiirh with stroncr, erect stems and five-lobed leaves. 

The flowers are blue, and 
appear in July, August, 
and September. This is 
4|y^yij^^^ one of the oldest species, 
^y a native of Siberia, and is 
very striking and hand- 
some. Delpliini'imi formo- 
sum, beautiful larkspur, 
however, is finer. It grows 
only three to four feet 
high, with stems of medium 
streno:th and strago-lino-, 
and produces graceful ra- 
cemes of bright gentian- , 
blue flowers. It blooms f 
freely from June to Sep- 
tember. The flowers are often an inch across. There are I 
some fine improved double-flowei'ing varieties of D. grandi- 
jlorimi. They are of all shades of blue, ^vith large very 
double flowers on spikes often two feet long. These plants 
grow four to five feet high, and flower throughout the sum- 
mer and fall. 

Dictamnus fraxinella (gas-plant) grows from one to two 




GAS PLANT. 

(dictamnus fraxinella.) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



181 



feet liigli, bears spikes of curiously shaped, sliowy flowers 
in summer. The plant on a warm evening gives oif a gas 
so abundantly that a lighted match applied to the flower 
ignites it and })roduces a bright flash. Digitalis inu'iJ urea 
(common foxglove) is a well-known and very ornamental 
plant. The quaintly shaped flower and color, varying from 
w^hite to dark purple, combine to produce this excellent 
effect. It o-rows three to 



feet high. 



Draco- 




five 

cepJialum Ruyscliianmn 
(hyssop-leaved dragon's- 
head) is from Europe, and 
grows from twelve to eigh- 
teen inches high. It is 
very showy in summer, 
bearing purplish -blue flow- 
ers in closely whorled 
spikes an inch long. This 
is the best of the species 
of dra2:on's-heads. 

Eryngiimi alpinum is 
a very pretty plant two 
feet high, looking some- 
thing like the thistles at first sight, owing to the peculiar 
character of the leaves surrounding the usually dense, 
compact, bhmtly spike-like heads of flowers. It blooms 
in July and August. Euphorbia corollata (flowering 
spurge) is a tall branching plant two to three feet high, 
bearing pure white flowei's in heads all through July and 
as late as October. The Gaillardias (especially Gaillardia 



QAILLARDIA GRANDIFLORA. 



182 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



^^. 



grandiflora) are a fine, showy family from tlie Western 
States that have been much improved recently. Gaillardia 

grandijfora bears bright yellow and 
red flowers on stout, erect stems 
one foot high. They continue in 
bloom all through July, August, 
,^^^yS'V?''%i&> and September. 

Geranium sangumeum, blood- 

^^ red geranium, is from Great Britain 

and grows one to two feet high. 




'^-^- with spreading, almost trailing, and 

GERANIUM SANQUINtUM. . . c • 

much intertwined stems — lorming 
in well developed plants finely rounded masses about two 
feet wide. The leaves are roundish and much and deeply 
divided. The flowers, one and a half inches across, grow 
singly on long, slender stalks, are large, dark red or purple, 
and appear in greater or less profusion throughout summer 
and autumn. 

Gillenia trifoliata, Bowman's 
root, is a native plant twelve to 
eighteen inches high. The reddish 
stems bear handsomely-cut foliage 
and at the top a loose open head of 
white flowers, sometimes tinged with 
rose. The branches of the head of 
flowers are so slender that the long- 
j)etaled flowers look light, floating, 
and very graceful. 

Funkia svhrordata is an early plantain lily and so is F. 
ovataj both blooming in midsummer. Its flo\vers grow in 







BOWMAN'S ROOT. 
(gillenia trifoliata.) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



183 



racemes or clusters and are white and very fragrant. The 
leaves of these plantain lilies are large and showy, egg- 
shaped, and slightly heai-t-shaped 
at tlie base, and the flower stems 
rise about eighteen inches high. 
Gypsopliila panicidata comes from 




PLAINTAIN LILY. 
(funkia ovata.) 



the Caucasus and grows about three 
feet high in a mass, as broad as tall, 
of thread-like stems bearinsc abun- 
dant small white flowers. It is a 
very graceful and delicate plant, 
blooming from midsummer to early 
autunm. 

The little Helenium Hoopesii is a neat Western plant 
twelve to fifteen inches high, that bears large orange-yellow 
flo'wers, which continue blooming a long time in summer. 
Hemei'ocallis flava, day lily, is a beautiful plant that 
bears sweet-scented lemon-yellow flowers on stems two and 
a half feet hio-h. It blooms in midsummer. 

One of the finest old garden flowers is the hollyhock 
with cup- or rosette-shaped flowers studded along stems 
six or eight feet high. The colors vary from white to red, 
dark purple, and bright yello\v. The double varieties are 
much prized, but I confess to a special liking for the old 
single cup- or wineglass-shaped kinds. There are some 
shades of these old kinds that are also very attractive, ruby- 
or wine-colored and pure white. The growth of a re- 
ne^ved regard for the simple and often lovely old forms of 
single flowering plants is a promising sign in horticulture. 
Heresy though it may seem to suggest it, I am sometimes 



184 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 




inclined to think tlie double flower essentially a monstrosity. 

Strong plants of hollyhocks will only bloom the second 
year after planting. 

The irises are perhaps the most 
beautiful of the flowers of summer. Of 
those that flower in summer the German 
iris should be named first, being first 
in order of bloom. The ordinary form 
has violet- blue, very large flowers, but 
by hybridization fine varieties with a 
great range of beautiful combinations 
of color have been secured. The blue 
changes into purple and bronze and | 
rose and yellow and white. Some of 
these varieties grow three feet high 

and have flowers four inches across. The gem of all the 

irises, however, is Iris J^cempferi from Japan, growing 

three to four feet hiofh. The flower 

is like some great orchid of the quaint- 
est form and differs from any of the 

ordinary kinds of iris, being specially 

broad and flat. These flowers are 

both single and double and display 

the greatest variety of color from the 

purest white to the darkest shades of 

royal purple, through pinks and l^lues, 

with gold and other markings. The 

introduction of many of the finest 

of these kinds from Japan we owe to Mr. Thomas Hogg. 
Of no less value than the summer-blooming irises are the 



GERMAN IRIS. 
(iris germancia. ) 




LILIUM AURATUM. 



GARDEN FLO WERS. 



185 




LILIUM SPECIOSUM. 



lilies of July aud August. Tlie finest of these is, perhaps, 
Lilium auratmn. It is a grand lily with Avhite flowers, 
spotted with maroon and a gold 
band throuo-h the centre of each 
petaL It is sometimes a little diffi- 
cult to groAv. El. Eateiniannke is also 
a beautiful summer lily from Japan, 
with flowers of a clear orange-apri- 
cot color, unspotted. L. speciosum 
is another favorite Japanese lily of 
easy growth and general adapta- 
bility. There is a beautiful white 
form and also a white tinged and spotted with rose. 
One of the best native species is Lilium svperham, Turk's- 
cap lily, with flowers of a bright orange, marked with purple 
spots and beautifully recurved. This kind is very hardy 
and tenacious of life, and is particularly effective and suc- 
cessful planted among rhododen- 
drons and other similar shrubs. 

The tiger lily, Z. tigrhium^ is 
very showy and stays in bloom a 
lono; time durino; summer. There 
is a grand variety of this tiger lily 
(tigrinum splendens) that has tall 
stems and fiery scarlet flowers. 
Lilium Oanadense is a showy 
summer - blooming species, Avith 
nodding yellow or orange flowers 
spotted with brown. There is also a deep-red variety of 
Canadense. Lilium par dalinum^ leopard lily, is a summer- 




TURK'S-CAP LILY. 

(l!lium superbum.) 



186 



GARDEN FLO WERS. 




BUT^^ON SNAKEROOT. 

(liatris spicata.) 



blooming species bearing numerous large orange-scarlet 

flowers. It is one of the best and easiest grown of tlie 
Pacific-coast species. Liliwm Pyre- 
iiaicuni, yellow-turban lily, is a fine 
showy species with yellow flowers 
sj)otted Avith black. Most, if not all 
of these lilies are easy to cultivate, 
and simply require good garden soil. 
The Liatris, blazing-star, or gay- 
feather, is a genus of very showy 
plants from the Western and Southern 
States. They have tuberous roots, 

straight stems two to five feet high, and generally very 

narrow leaves, the upper part of the stem being crowded 

with flowers that form a long, dense spike of some shade 

of purple. L. pyGnostacliya, Kansas gay-feather, comes from 

the prairies of the far West, and grows five feet high, with 

a very dense spike of flowers ten to 

twenty inches long. It flowers in 

summer later than Liatris spicata. 
Lychnis (Jlialcedonica, scarlet 

lychnis, or Maltese cross, comes 

from Russia, and grows two to 

three feet hio-h. This is one of the 

oldest as well as one of the most 

brilliant of hardy garden plants. 

It has been nes-lected for much less 

showy summer flowers. 

Lythrwni Salicaria, pui'ple loosestrife, is a beautiful 

plant. It grows about three or four feet high during July, 




DOUBLE SCARLET LYCHNIS. 
(lychnis CHALCEDONICA, FL. PL.) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



187 




PURPLE LOOSESTRIPE. 

(lythrum salicaria. ) 



August, and September, with uumerous square, stout, 
woody stems brauching a little at tlie top, and termiuating 
in long spikes of rosy purple flow- 
ers. L. Viscaria splendenSj German 
catchfly, is a dense tufted species 
twelve to fifteen inches high, with 
bi'illiaut scarlet flowers in summer. 
Monarda didynia, bee balm, grows 
about three feet high, with erect 
stems clothed with large egg-shaped 
leaves. The flowers are in close 
head-like whorls at the extremity 
of the stem, and are deep red, 
appearing in June or July, and lasting a couple of months. 
It is sometimes called the Oswego tea, and comes from 
Noi'th America. One of the most showy and interesting 
flowers that bloom all summer is the evening primrose. 
Many bloom for a very long time, and have unusually 
large flowers of striking and attractive appearance, and are 
besides pleasantly fragrant. CEnothera Missouriensis is 
perhaps the most showy of the group. The plant pro- 
duces many prostrate stems, branching freel}' about a foot 
high. The leaves are large and lance-shaped, and the flow- 
ers are very large, several inches across, and bright yellow. 
It grows luxuriantly in warm, sunny aspects and light rich 
soil, but in soil that is not exactly favorable it soon dies 
off and needs to be replanted every year or two, like an 
annual or biennial. 

Opuntia Itajinesquii, Western prickly pear, forms curi- 
ous broad mats six to ten inches high. It is a hardy cac- 



188 GARDEN FLOWERS. 

tus, with roimcl, very spiny stems, and yellowish flowers, 
often with a reddish centre. It blooms in summer, and is 
excellent for rockwork. Among the best garden flowers of 
summer are the poppies, I mean the hardy herbaceous pop- 
pies, not the annuals, which are also veiy pretty. The hardy 
type of these showy poppies is the Oriental poppy ( Papa- 
ver orientale), of which there exist several showy varie- 
ties, such as P. hracteattiin^ etc. P. hracteatiim., great 
scarlet poppy, is a splendid tall-growing species, producing 
dense rounded masses of long leaves roughish to the touch 
above and below. The flower stems are almost leafless, 
veiy rough and shaggy, and three or four feet high, sup- 
porting each an enormously large bright orange-scarlet 
flower marked, at the base of petals and sepals, with a large 
intense dark crimson spot. It is a native of Siberia. 
Other kinds come from Grreece and the Pyrenees. Papaver 
nudicaule var. eroGeum, Iceland poppy, is an entirely differ- 
ent plant from the last. It is a 
pretty d\varf -growing plant, with 
i^t^-^ brio-ht saffron-colored flowers o-row- 
*§i^> ing on stems one foot high. It is 
excellent for rock-work. 

Puhus odoratuSj purple flower- 

v'T* ing raspberry, is an old well-known 

plant of the highest excellence. Its 

large massive foliage is effective, 

PURPLE FLOWERING RASPBERRY. ^^^ ^^ P'^"^"^'^ ^'^^ ^^^^ shadc aud 

(rubus odoratus.) \^ ^]^g most unpropitious places. 

The flowers are an inch or moi'e in diameter, and a deep 
purple. 




GARDEN FLOWERS. 



189 




PENTSTEMON BARBATUS. 

(VAR. TORREYI.) 



Pentstemon cohcea is an early variety blooming in sum- 
mer and also Pentstemon hai'hatus, var. Torreyi. It is 
somewhat rare. The foxglove-like 
flowers are two inches or more 
long in a spike of purple striped 
with white. Petalostemon decum- 
hens is one of the prettiest pros- 
trate plants ^\'ith stems a foot long, 
on the ends of which are borne 
dense spikes of deep violet-purple 
flowers. It commences to bloom 
in summer and lasts till frost. 
Platycodon grandi-florum, large 
bell-flower, is the same as WaMenhergia and Carnpanida 
grandi-fJora. It is the largest of all the bell flowers. 
The buds, before opening, become inflated like a balloon. 
The flower is a shallow bell, two inches or more across and 

deep blue. It blooms all summer 
and is very attractive. Salvia 
2)ratensis, meadow-sage, is twelve 
to eig:hteen inches hio-h, comes 
from Europe, and bears long 
spikes of rich blue flowers all 
summer. Scahiosa Caucasica is a 
handsome plant only a foot high. 
It grows vigorously and bears free- 
ly beautiful soft lilac flowers, that, 
when cut, last a long time in water. 
There are several herbaceous spireas that merit well a 
place in the flower-garden. Spircea Fili])endida, fi. pi. 







LARGE BELLFLOWER. 

(platycodon grandiflorum.) 



190 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 




dropwort, grows three feet liigb, lias ferD-like foliage and 
numerous double white flowers in summer. It is an old 
and favorite plant. Then there is the 
red flowering and fragrant S. lobata 
or venusta, queen of the prairies, and 
meadow-sweet, K Ulmaria, from Great 
Britain and Northern Europe and Si- 
l)eria, with fragi*ant white flowers and 
from three to four feet high, loving 
moist places and w^ater-courses. Thei'e 
^^_ is a pretty speedwell blooming long 
MEADOW SWEET. ^^ "^^^ summer-tlme. It is Veronica 

(spiR/EA uLMARiA.) auietliy st 11111 .^ a better kind than gen- 

tianoides, twelve to eighteen inches high, and bearing 
showy amethyst-blue flowers in pyramidal clusters. V. 
longifoUa^ var. sithsessilis, is, however, the best of the 
speedwells, bearing a larger flower-spike and larger indi- 
vidual flowers of a brilliant amethystine blue, which con- 
trast finely with the rich green foliage. 
It is one of the Japanese acquisitions. 
Yucca jilmnentosa belongs to the sum- 
mer season, with its tall spikes of bell- 
like flowers and strange tropical-look- 
ing leaves suited for rockwork. This 
plant is hardly an herbaceous plant, and 
yet it seems to belong here rather than 
among shrubs on account of the ap- gentian 
pearance of the great spikes of flowers 

We come now to the fall-blooming, hardy, herbaceous 
plants, which give us so much enjoyment during the 




LEAVED SPEEDWELL. 

(veronica gentianoides. ) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 191 



decadence of the plant-life of the year. Their colors 
supplement and perfect, if they do not enliven, the charm- 
ing tones of " the melancholy days," and as long as they 
last we seem to have about us still a remnant of the special 
loveliness of summer. The autumn monk's-hood, AcoiiUwni 
aiitum'nale, is one of the best, \\\i\\ dark-blue flowers on 
stems three feet high, lasting a long time in perfection. It 
associates itself well with Anemone Jcqxynica, and Ijears 
bold racemes of dark-blue flowers, is very robust, and has 
large, deeply cut leaves, and is a native of China and Japan. 

The best-known and appreciated, perhaps, of autumn 
flowers are the asters, starworts, or Michaelmas daisies. 
In this country we know the New England aster the best, 
A. Novce-Anglm. The large violet-purple flowers appear 
in great profusion along our roadsides. Every park and 
flower border should have them. They grow four or Ave 
feet high. A. lorigifolius, var. formosus, is more showy and 
grows in the form of pyramidal bushes completely clothed 
with bright rose-colored flowers blooming all the fall until 
frost. A. Short a is a tall-growing species and bears in 
fall large bright-blue flower-heads. Chrysanthemums gen- 
erally bloom late, on the edge of winter, but there are 
some kinds that come earlier in autumn. Among these are 
lacustre and maximum., much alike, with large flowers three 
or four inches across. The first grows four to five feet 
high and likes moist soil, while maximum is of a dwarf 
habit, only one foot high. 

There are few more showy and satisfactory plants dur- 
ing summer and early fall than Coreopsis lanceolata often 
mistaken for grandijiora. Its large lemon-yellow flowers 



192 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



bloom very freely on long stems two to three feet high. 
Gentiana Andrewsii, closed gentian, is a pretty, late- 
flowering species with fine blue flowers an inch long. It 
likes a good garden soil, especially if it be sandy and 
moist. Some of the sunflowers bloom late in fall, notably 
Helianthus Maximilicmi which grows six to eight feet 
high. It is very free-flowering and large-growing, and 
should have plenty of room. It comes from Texas. The 
finest sunflower is perhaps H. orgyalis, graceful sunflower, 
also hailing from Texas. It grows six to ten feet high, has 
great flowers three or four inches in diameter, and has 
narrow leaves that give it a very graceful habit. The 
sunflower is splendid in inflorescence, but coarse in general 
effect, and should therefore be planted somewhat in the 
background or in the midst of large shrubbery. Stand- 
ing alone it suggests a coarse, greedy plant that seems 
inclined to seize upon and exhaust all the ground around 

it without I'egard to the rights of- 
other plants. 

Hemerocallis Thunhergii is a 
fine late - blooming day - lily that 
bears yellow sweet-scented flowers 
on stems four feet high. One of 
the most splendid of fall blooming 
herbaceous plants is the rose-mallow. 
The common marsh rose-mallow 
(Hibiscus Mosclieutos ) , growing 
three to five feet high, with light 
rose-colored flowers in August larger than hollyhocks, 
and continuing long in bloom, is the best known. Hi- 




RED-HOT POKER. 

fjRITOMA UVARIA. ) 



GA RDEN FL O I VERS. 



193 



hiscus Californicus is, however, the hirgest, growing five 
feet high, and bearing white flowers four to six inches 
across, with purple centres. Among the best fall plants, 
especially when mixed with grasses, such as the Arundo, 
etc., are Kniphofias or Trito^nas, the red-hot poker plant. 
Like the Arundo, it is better, although it sometimes 
winters well, to take it up and printer it in a cellar. 
It blooms splendidly 
in autumn until frost. 
There is no more 
strange and intensely 
colored flower than that 
borne by this plant. It 
is like flame partially 
at white heat. Trito- 
ma aloides^ often called 
TJvai'ia^ is a ^vell- 
known kind that o-rows 
three or four feet high. 
There is a variety, 
grandijfora, that grows 
five feet high, and there 
is also a smaller species, corallina^ that grows only eighteen 
inches to two feet, and bears bright coral-red flowers. 

The LatJii/rus latifolius^ everlasting pea, is an unjustly 
neglected plant, looking well trailed over bushes or on the 
ground, where its pretty rose-colored flowers last nearl}^ all 
summer. There is also a pure white variety. Most of the 
everlasting peas have large roots, and if left undisturbed 

improve with age. Lobelia cardinalis, the cardinal flower 

13 







CARDINAL FLOWER. 

(lobelia cardinalis.) 



194 GA RDEN FL O WERS. ^ | 



of New England woods and waters, displays one of the 
brightest scarlets among herbaceous plants. It grows three 
to four feet high, and is easily cultivated. Malva Alcea, 
garden mallow, is a rosy-purple flowering plant that blooms 
in late summer. It grows two to three feet high, and has 
flowers two inches across. 

M. moschata alha is a similar species, with pure white 
flowers. (J^nothera speciosa, a late-blooming, evening pi'im- 
rose, with large, fragrant flowers, the white petals of which 
become rosy purple when fading. The garden phloxes, de- 
rived from Phlox jKiniculata, P. inaculata^ etc., have 1)een 
much hybridized and crossed. The height varies from one 
to four feet, the foliage fi'om narrow and shining to broad 
and dull. The flo\vers grow in a l>road, pyramidal head, 
often six inches across, and continue in bloom in late summer 
and autumn for two or three months. There are colors, 
shades, and markings innumerable. Among the self-colored 
— i. e., all of one color, we find pure white, cream, salmon, 

rose, lilac, carmine, purple, violet, 
and crimson. In some varieties two 
colors combine, either Vjeautifully 
shaded, or with a distinct centre of 
^^^ V P^ one color and the rest of the flower I 
*^^f»K -CT'^ »"■* At^ ^^ another. There are also beau- 
*,^^C5^"*4f^'ht /5 tifully striped varieties. This is 
"X;^>^^)^^^''^f^ truly a magnificent group of flower- 
ing plants, and should be planted 




LEADWORT. 



(plumbago LARPENT/E.) auioug declduous shrubs or among 

other large herbaceous plants where thei'e will be other foli- 
age to support and mask the lower portion of the phloxes. 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



195 



Plumbago LarpenUB is a beautiful blue-flowei'iiig plant of 
a dense spreading habit, six to ten inches in height. The 
ilowers are in terminal clusters, 
line bright Ijlue at first, but 
changing afterwards to deep vio- 
let. They appear in August, Sep- # 
tember, and October. PyretJiruni \/ 




STONE CROP. 

(SEDUM ACRE.) 



vUginosum, giant daisy, is a 
fine, effective, fall-blooming plant, 
growing five feet high, and l)ear- 
ing large white flowers with yel- 
low centres. Ritdhechia maxiifna^ 
large cone-flower, is also a striking plant four to six feet 
high, with large glaucous leaves and bright yellow flowers 
^vith brown centres. The Sedimis, live-for-evers, are excel- 
lent plants for poor, shallow soil, and especially for rock- 
^vork. Seduni acre, the common stone-crop, is one of the 
best, as it is low-spreading and moss-like. It is particularly 
good for carpeting, and displays num- 
erous yellow flowers in summer. 

There are two excellent Japanese 
stone-crops or Sedums that grow in 
large tufts, with thick glaucous leaves 
and rosy-purple flowers in clusters. 
They bloom in late fall. The two 
species are Sieholdiij spectahile or Fa- 
haria, of which the last is the larger 
and perhaps more showy. Senecio Japonica, a little-know^n 
groundsel, belongs to the same family as the ragweed, one 
of the most extensive in point of species to be found among 




(SEDUM SPECTABILE.) 



196 



GARDEN FLOWERS, 



plants, liaviug, it is said, nearly a thousand different kinds 

known to botanists. 

Senecio Japonica is one of tlie handsomest members 
of the family. It is of striking 
-•^ habit, grows five feet high, with 
^^^ leaves nearly a foot across, divided 
into nearly a dozen divisions. The 
flower-heads are about three inches 
across with the narrow outer florets 
of a rich orano;e color. It is a moist- 
ure-loving plant, and should be 
grown in rich, moderately stiff, loam. 
The Silpliiums are large-growing 
coarse plants, with sunflower-like 
blossoms, in summer requiring places 
in the background with plenty of 
room. S. lacmiatuin is the largest 
and most showy of the family. Dr. 
Asa Gray writes of this plant : " On 
the wide, open prairies the leaves 
are ^aid to present their edges uni- 
forndy north and south, whence it 
is called the compass-plant." The 
Solidagos, golden-rods, present one 
of the most characteristic and fa- 
miliar flowers of the United States, 
and should be planted in clumps like 
the Sil'plimins where their graceful 

habit and masses of yellow flowers will display their beauty 

effectively. In the eyes of most they ai-e weeds, ])ut in cer- 




COMPASS PLANT. 

fsiLPHIUM LACINIATUM.) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



197 




GOLDEN-ROD. 

(SOLIDAGO CANADENSIS.) 



tain parts of the flower garden few more striking plants can be 
set out for autumnal effect. The species rigida, Shortii, and 
Canadensis are among the best, the 
last growing fully five feet higher, "^M^P 

Stohesia cyanea, from the South- 
ern States, is one of the rarest and 
handsomest of native plants. The 
flower-heads, three or four inches 
across on strong plants, are a fine sky- 
blue, somewhat like a large China 
aster. It blooms till frost. Ver- 
nonia Novehoracensis, New^ York 
iron-weed, grows two to six feet high, with dark-purple clus- 
ters of flowers at the end of straight stems. It should also 
be given plenty of room and kept rather in the background. 

There are of course plants suited for carpeting portions 
of the flower garden and rock garden that are not used for 

their flowers, which are generally 

ft!^ insignificant. Such are most of 

^'^d^%^P'^^^^S the Semper vivwns, oi house-leeks. 

d^w^YAm^l^ There is S. araclinoideum^ cobweb 



house-leek, an alpine plant, with its 
small rosettes covered with cob- 
webby hairs ; tectormm, the common 
house-leek, and, one of the finest and 
largest of all, 8. calcareum. The last 
named has regular bluish leaves 
tipped each with a purple sj^ine. 
Before closing this brief list of hardy herbaceous peren- 
nials I must refer to the Christmas roses, Hellehorus niger. 




NEW YORK IRON-WEED. 
(VERNONIA NOVEBORACENSIS.) 



198 



GARDEN FLO WERS. 




CHRISTMAS ROSE. 

(hELLEBORUS NIGER.) 



whicli I cannot exactly term autumn flowers. They bloom 
so late that, by using a frame over them and thus securing 
a little protection, tlieir beautiful white flowers may be had 
at Christmas. They should l)e planted in a shady position 

and moist soil, as they are impatient 
of dry weather. H. niger altifolius | 
is one of the best varieties, with 
pinkish white flowers and the char- 
acteristic dark-green foliage. 

The magnificent Jaj^anese and 
Chinese chrysanthemums should be 
given liberal space, but my excuse 
for not considering them is their 
lack of hardiness. They may live 
and thrive with some protection, but there is no certainty. 
The proper way to grow them is to cultivate strong plants 
in pots and set them out in early fall, just before they 




COBWEB HOUSE-LEEK. 

(SEMPERVIVUM ARACHNOIDEUM.) 



GARDEN FLOWERS. 



199 




AUTUMN CROCUS. 

(COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE.) 



bloom, with the expectation of lifting them ^v•hen the 

flowers have gone. 

ColchicuDi autumnale, common meadow-saffron, is 

known as the autumn crocus, and is one of the latest 

flowers to appear in our beds and borders 

out-of-doors. The flowers appear alone 

without leaves, and consist of six lance- 
shaped somewhat spreading petals, I'osy 

purple in color, and supported only an inch 

or two above ground. The leaves begin to 

ofrow after the flowers cease, and reach 

their fullest development the following spring and early 

summer. They are lance-shaped, dark olive-green, and 

about nine to twelve inches lono;. 

The dahlias constitute 
a ^veil-known class of late 
flowering-plants, and pre- 
sent a rich variety of color 
at a season when flowers 
are scarce. Their forms, 
however, are stiff and ar- 
tificial looking, and the 
more they are "perfected" 
by cultivation the stiff er 
they seem to become. 

These objections, how- 
ever, do not apply to 
the single dahlias, that 

have been deservedly increasing in reputation of late. Their 

colors are quite varied and their single petals graceful. 




SINGLE DAHLIAS. 



200 GARDEN FL O WERS. 

Notwitlistanding the great beauty of many double flowers, 
there is much to be said iu favor of the more humble 
single-blooming kinds. 

The employment of herbaceous plants in the woods or 
in grass is a charmitig method of displaying their most 
characteristic beauties ; and for natural effects in connection 
with rockwork very many varieties are invaluable. Within 
the limits of the garden, however, and in the soil that can be 
thei'e readily prepared, hardy herbaceous plants will thrive 
and grow as nowhere else. It may be somewhat less natural, 
and perhaps less artistic, but it is human, and it suits the 
flowers. I believe that the suggestion of any diagram 
arrangement of herbaceous plants will be hardly profitable. 
One ^vould as easily suggest an arrangement for a bouquet 
of flowers. It should be irregular, and so disposed as to 
prevent one plant from obscuring the beauties of the others. 
The large ones should come, as a rule, somewhere at the back, 
and the next size nearer the front, and so on to the smallest. 
It is simple enough. A knowledge of the habits of the 
jjlants and good natin-al taste will do the work well if the 
above general rule is followed. These herbaceous plants 
may be planted effectively on the lawn in connection or in 
front of the shrubberies. First trees, then shrubs, then 
herbaceous plants or wild flowers, and finally grass. This 
is the natural arrangement of such lawn plantations. 




CHAPTER X. 

GRANDMOTHER'S GARDEN. 




URING early boyhood, I paid long 
visits at the home of a dear old 
grandmother, in one of the most 
thoroughly crystallized towns of 
New Euo;land. Grandmother was 
a Quaker of the old school, and 
a pillar of the meeting, conse- 
cpiently ev^erything about her was 
of the approved old-time sort. The garden, certainly, was 
no exception to the rule. I think I see now, the sober, 
dignified Quaker ladies, attired in suitable dove-color, pacing 
the garden walks or daintily plucking flowers. Surely finer 
flowers never grew than were reared in that garden, for the 
maintenance it received was exquisite. What sunny houi's 
we children spent in it. And it was truly a charming spot, 
thousfh somethino; must be allowed for the 2;lamour of 
boyish freshness and spirits. I feel, indeed, after seeing 
all the modern inventions, that I could cheerfully forego 



202 GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 

the most blazing effects that we behold nowadays on 
expansive la^vus, for the privilege of enjoying once more 
the old garden behind grandmother's house. I wish you 
could see the quaint old place as I recall it after the lapse 
of many yeai's. It was, I confess, a somewhat formal and 
prim affair ; but there was nothing commonplace or vulgar 
al)out it, as in the baser sort of what is now called ribbon 
gardening. On the contrary, there was a distinct flavor of 
individuality in the character of its appearance. The de- 
signer, being either a practical housewife, or inspired by 
one, had thought of many things besides mere ornament, 
and even the ornament had a distinct difference, which gave 
this garden a special suggestiveness of its own. 

The paths were laid out with entire regularity, and 
marked with long rows or Ijorders of dwarf box ; but there 
the i-egularity and sameness ceased, unless we count as regu- 
lar the scrupulously kept gravel of the walks, bedded with 
white pebbles. Such a garden naturally had its graj^e-vine, 
trained on some suitable supports, which, in this case, hap- 
pened to be the stable wall. The next-door ueighboi-, I 
remember, had an arbor for his grape-vines, that began, as 
it seemed, nowhere in particular, and ended twenty feet off 
with the most delightful neglect of any why or wherefore, 
except that it existed for the grape-vine ; that was evi- 
dently enough for Deacon Jones. Nowadays such an 
arboi" must have done duty alike as a place for seats, for 
a promenade, and also for the display of architectural 
ornament in the Queen Anne style. Not that such a triple 
performance of duty is not proper enough, but only it was 
not the way of gardens of those earlier days. 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 



203 




GARDEN PINK. 

IDIANTHUS PLUMARIUS. ) 



For the economies of the house, there were all sorts 
of fragrant herbs, such as thyme, sweet-marjory, sage, mint, 
and half a dozen other sweet-smelliuir 
and savory plants, that were on this 
account, however, none the less attrac- 
tive as ornaments of the garden. They 
were not only delightful in themselves, 
but delightful because they reminded 
us of grandmother's wonderful store- 
closet, from ^vhicll issued so many good 
things. 

But grandmother's garden was, 
before all things, a productive flower 
garden. Unlike modern gardens, created for external 
show alone, it was a real storehouse of color and odor, 
out of which one could, day after day, gather rich treasures, 
and yet leave its beauty apparently undimmed. Everybody 

about the house, l)oys included, was 
^velc()me to pluck a flower occasion- 
ally without let or hindrance. The 
flowers, indeed, seemed actually to 
enjoy being plucked. They were not, 
of course, specially rare, and yet I am 
sorry to say that it might be difl&cult 
to find some of them nowadays. Their 
simple charms have, in fact, been al- 
most entirely obscured by the glitter- 
ing novelties of the modern horticul- 
tural world. For instance, there were those I'ich old damask 
roses. They are seldom if ever seen now ; and yet what 







SWEET-WILLIAM. 

(dianthus BARBATUS. 1 



204 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 



masses of them there were in grandmother's garden, and 
how well I remember their rich color, and the delightful odor 
they exhaled when the dew was resting on 
their petals. AYhere shall we find now 
such beds of sweet-scented pinks, — not car- 
nations, but real hardy pinks, — and such 
sweet-williams ? In few places ; for they 
are out of fashion now. Tall clusters of 
phloxes stood here and there. Blue lark- 
spurs, tall, quaint, and lovely, nodded 
above carpets of 2)ortulaca vine, studded 
with scarlet flowers. 
Broad patches of 
the gorgeous herb- 
aceous peony were 




striking in effect, 



D-. 






"^ m^ 






FALL LARKSPUR. 

(delphinium elatum.) 






close l)y the strag- 
gling foliage and flowers 
of the sweet-pea. Great ^'■[.-.^ »f 
hollyhocks were there, 
too, with richly colored 
single petals, the pure vj 
outlines and decorative 
appearance of which fail not to 
charm the eye even now, amid the 
multitudinous resources of the mod- 
ern gardener. 

Snowdrops, crocuses, and other 
bulbs used to spring up as if by magic, year after year, in 
secluded spots of grandmother's garden. Evidently no 



I 




SINGLE HOLLYHOCKS. 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 205 

definite arrangement had been applied to any of these 
plants, but somehow they were seen to be greatly to the 
advantage of the general effect. All stood together, just as 
they happened to come, behind the borders of box, in the 
rich, weedless brown earth. How fresh that brown earth 
smelled as it was dug up in early spring ! Of other 
climbers than the grape-vine there were few. Wistarias, 
clematises, and the long list of similar plants of the present 
day were little used then. Filling their place in their own 
attractive way, were delicate morning-glories and graceful 
cypress vines, trained with some formality and with almost 
reverential care. 

These reminiscences may and should have a distinct 
purpose and effect on present landscape gardening undertak- 
ings. Let our circumstances and intentions be what they 
may, we can certainly build up for ourselves once more 
some genuine development of these quaint old garden 
recollections. We can, I think, do it all the better if we are 
poor and have t)nly a half acre or a scant 25 x 100-foot lot. 

In that case we should make a pilgrimage to Sunnyside 
(Irvington, N. Y.), and see how Washington Irving did, by 
fine instinct alone, for he was hardly a landscape gardener, 
what few landscape gardeners would have the simple self- 
control to attempt. A plain rambling house set on the 
banks of the Hudson with one walk winding from the pic- 
turesque lane to the porch and door-step, half a dozen or 
more elms and maples, a few simple flowers, blue and white, 
along the base of the dwelling, and you have literally all 
there is of the lawn. Not a coleus bed, not a shrub, noth- 
ing but exquisitely kept turf and a few stately old trees. 



206 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN, 



The I'epose, tlie dignity, the quaint simplicity, and uncon- 
scious self-restraint of Sunnyside is my ideal of what a 
small place should be with a grandmother's garden 
behind it. 

But the reader will say, 
perhaps, I have my acres of 
land with drives, rhododen- 
dron groups, shrubberies, green 
houses, beds of cannas and co- 
leuses, and yet why cannot I 
too have my grandmother's 
garden ? You can have it, 
without doubt, Imt since it I! 
will ])e necessarily out of keep- 
ing with the general scope of |i 
your place, you will have to 
isolate it and shut it from view 
with large trees and shrubs, 
so that it will be a surprise 
when discovered, and not 
count in the general effect of 
the lawn. 

In order to explain what I mean, I have introduced a 
plan of a place near Orange, N. J., where just this arrange- 
ment for a grandmother's garden ^vas undertaken. It is 
not, of course, exactly w^hat we remember our grandmoth- 
er's garden to have been, other times, other manners, — but 
it is built on the same plan, amplified and perfected in ac- 
cordance with the richness of our modern list of peren- 
nial garden plants. It is less quaint, I acknowledge, less 




COREOPSIS LANCOLATA. 



II 







STREET 

207 PRIVATE PLACE AT ORANGE, N. J., AS LAID OUT BY VAUX & CO. 



S-' R [1 El 




old-timy, but it has 
as mucli qiiaintness as 
tlie old rooms with 
the grandmother's fur- 
niture seen in modern 
houses, and is quite as 
much in keeping. 

Let us look at the 
plan. It represents a 
place of three acres. 
There is a broad drive 
that sweeps up to the 
front of the house and 
then turns and passes 
out to the l)arn. All 
along the sides of the 



CANADA COLUMBINE. 

lAQUILEGJA CANADENSIS.} 



* 



GRANDMOTHER'S GARDEN. 



209 




ERIANTHUS RAVENN/E. 



place are planted continuous borders of mixed trees and 

shrubs intended to secure a sense of seclusion, while in 

front are left two openings to give 
a view of passei's-by and a glimpse 
of outside life and comjjanionship. 

On the left of the house a walk 
winds from the front door to a fine 
old shade tree with a seat around 
it, and so along the outside border 
of shrubbery to a summer-house 
in the rear. At the back of the 
house the ground originally sloped 

up rapidly so that it became necessary to form a terrace in 

order to manage the drainage successfully. 

Between this terrace and the house, shut in by shrub- 

beiy on both sides, was arranged a mat of carpet bedding 

carefully designed with Altemcmtlieras, Eclieverias^ Pyreili- 

rmns, and Gnafplialiwms^ so as to 

secure an artistic arrangement of 

vivid green, yellow, red, and white. 

The spot is isolated, and part, as it 

^vere, of the architecture of the 

house. In such places only, on 

country places, do we consider 

planting of this kind admissible. 

In any other S23ot, away from the 

house, such designs are artificial 

and out of key. 

Passing up two flights of stone steps that ascend to the 

terrace with their intervening terrace walk, we come to the 




FESTUCA GLAUCA. 



210 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 






•B/'f^ 



"?&? 



terrace garcleu, or to what comes as near to the graud- 
motlier's garden as we ought to expect to get on such a place. 
It consists of a plat of green turf with the corners cut 
to an octagonal line, and then a border of eight feet for the 
regular hardy garden flowering plants, lined on the farther I 
side by clipped walls of California privet. 

On either corner of the grass plat are tall urns for 
flowers, and still farther in are tall clusters of grasses, 
making four keypoints of effect. One of these is made of 

the dazzling white variegated 
bamboo (Arundo Donax varie- 
gata), sometimes called ribbon 
grass, mingled with a blazing 
spike or two of the red - hot 
poker plant or KnipJiojia alceoides 
( Tritoma Uvaria grandiflo ra). 
These plants are not entirely 
hardy, and need protection in a 
cellar during winter. Another 
of these groups is made up , of a tender but splendid- 
looking grass, Gynerium argenteum, pampas grass, with 
graceful foliage and long silvery plumes. The third 
clump consists of the hardy M'ianthus Havennce, resembling 
pampas grass, and growing ten or twelve feet high. Eidalia 
Jap07iica variegata and zehrina constitute the fourth and 
best clump. They are entirely hardy and very ornamental 
with their leaves striped and banded with white, and their 
stalks four to six feet high, bearing curly-feathered plumes. 
Eestuca glauca and Stipa 'pennata have also their places 
as attractive grasses. 




STIPA PENNATA. 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 



211 



And now ^ve may in- 
dicate the special points 
of resemblance in this 
design to the grand- ^'^' 
mother's garden. They 
are to be fonnd princi- 
pally in the border of 
plants eight feet wide 
that skirts the walk and 
grass plat. Each angle 
of this grass plat is cut t 
off, making a large eight- 
sided figure with four 
long and four short sides. A strip 
of turf two feet wide is first left, 
and then comes the mixed skirt- 
ing border of hardy perennial 
jilants, relieved against the dark 
green clipped wall of privet. 
Here, as in the grandmother's 
garden, there is plenty of color 
and odor scattered about in some- 
what promiscuous fashion, and 
ready to the hand for plucking or 
not, as the passing mood may 
determine. 

In a general way, the large- 
growing plants are placed at the 
back, beyond a row of lower 
habit, and next the path we 




\ i^^ / 



HAREBELL. 
(campanula tenori.) 



212 



GRANDMOTHER'S GARDEN. 



find the smaller specimens. Taken as a wLole, however^ 
the appearance of the plants, one to t^vo feet apart, would 
be called entirely irregular, and instead of bare spaded earth,, 
generally considered necessary in such places, the entire sur- 
face beneath the plants is I 




LIVER LEAF. 
Chepatica triloba.) 



covered with varieties of 
j liardy creepers, such as 

ni( )ney wort, periwinkle,, 
seduni, sandwort, moun- 
tain everlasting, arabis^ 
or rock cress, not for- 
getting the pretty 
creeping forget-me-not, 
'.^ and the turting daisy, 
A\ith its lovely little 
flowers. 

All the plants in this 
border are entirely hardy, and will last for many years 
without being renewed. Any one may enjoy here abundant 
color and odor of the most charming kind, for the greater 
part of the year. First, in early spring, peep out flowers 
of the lovely blue hepaticas, of the trailing arbutus, the 
dainty New England mayflower, and certain of the anemo- 
nes or wind-flowers. The bloodroot, ( Sanguinaria Cana- 
densis) too, very dwarf, is always eagerly looked for in 
early spring, on account of the delicate charm of its pure 
white buds tenderly enfolded with leaves ; later on, a clump 
of its opened flowers are very showy. 

Then in May come still more, and, if possible, lovelier 
flowers, many of which last on far into summer. Such are 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 213 



larkspurs, garden pinks, tke exquisite stemless gentian 
( Gentiana acauUs J, candy tuft (IberU), the aspliodels, fa- 
vorites of tlie ancients ; several beautiful species of violets, 
and charming species of anemone, still blooming on into sum- 
mer. Sti-ictly summer-blooming kinds of herbaceous plants 
there are, of course. Here, in summer, are bright yello^N' 




JAPAN WIND-FLOWER. 
(anemone japonica-honorine joubert.) 



A-cliilleas, the quaint and exquisite blue and yell()^v Aquile- 
gias, or hardy columbines, with strangely formed petals, the 
dainty harebells, showy Coreojysises^ day lilies, certain lovely 
species of gentian, the wonderful scarlet cardinal-ilower, 
brilliant red poppies, rich Idue and scarlet foxglove like 
Pentstemons, Veronicas, white Astilhe Jai:>onica, the 
garden phloxes, LiatrU or blazing star, and the purple 
foxglove. 



214 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 





BLUE VIOLET. 



Autumn flowers are not forgotten. Masses of golden- 
rod (Solidago), and orange-colored milkweed (Asclejnas), 
and purple asters are scattered through- 
out the border ; the blue 
Aco7iitu7n auhmi7iale, or au- 
tumn monk's-hood, the curi- 
ous chelone, or turtle's head, ""imnn^ \ '"fmrm ^t i 
and the dwarfer kinds of ^^^WMiBpyP^B I 
sunflowers. 

Last, but not least, just 
before winter sets in, w^e 
dwell with delight on the 
brilliant yellow and purple flowers of the chrys- 
anthemums and Christmas roses. Your atten- 
tion has been directed in this description to only 
a few of the plants in this border of mixed 
hardy flowers. More than a hundred and fifty 
varieties are used. 

Before leaving the subject, it seems 
worth while to dwell 
for a moment on the 
Japan irises, planted in 
distinct lines within 
three formal recesses 
of the California 
privet, arranged for 
their recej)tion. 
They appear in the 
spring, and present, with their curious forms and hues — as 
strange and beautiful in their way as any orchid — one of the 



PURPLE FOXGLOVE 

(digitalis purpurea. I 




WHITE VIOLET. 



GRANDMOTHERS GARDEN. 



215 



most uuiqiie aud charming effects in the entire garden. The 

broad, straight paths that run past all these flowers, and 

the grass plat and croquet ground 

make a worthy frame for our 

bordei', and everywhere the eye 

meets, at almost any season of the 

year, objects of interest. 

This place has, therefore, an 
attraction that is related some- 
what to the charm c:randmother's 
garden possessed for us in early 




ORIENTAL POPPY. 
(PAPAVER BRACTEATUMj 



days. There is, first, the neatness and perfect keeping 
that suits the level space adjoining a terrace and the 
architectural lines of a house, and then there is all the 

profusion, and far more than the 
variety, that characterized the floral 
treasures of the old-fashioned exam- 
ple. More than that, we have indi- 
viduality of beauty, which is, in one 
sense, the best of all beauty, fostered 
in the highest degree. One's eco- 
nomical instincts are satisfied with 
the idea of possessing flowers that 
need no re-setting year by year, and 
one's instinct for beauty can certainly ask for no more 
abundant feast than is here spread out. 




JAPAN IRIS. 

(iris k/empferi.) 



CHAPTER XI. 

BEDDING PLANTS. 




HE terms flower bedding, color bed- 
diug, or carpet bedding are famil- 
iar to every one who gives flowers 
the slightest consideration. Farm 
door-yards and Newport lawns 
alike dis[)ort themselves in the 
gay but unfortunately often garish 
colors of the coleus and geranium. 
No need to advocate their use. They have achieved a 
foothold that is not likely to be soon shaken. The uni- 
versal delight in rich color is satisfied by their employment 
and the expense of their employment is comparatively 
small. 

They have long ago come to stay. It therefore behoves 
us cai'efully to consider here how they should be employed 
in any definite attempt at a harmonious arrangement of a 
well-appointed lawn. As we find them presented on many 
grass plats, their appearance is vulgar, inharmonious, and 
barbaric. The discord of color shocks one like an accumu- 

216 



BEDDING PLANTS. 217 



latioii of false notes in music. So common, moreover, has 
this bad composition grown, that some of the most refined 
and enlightened spirits among landscaj^e gardeners have 
declared unqualified ^var against all color and carpet bed- 
ding whatsoever. It seems to me, however, that this is 
a })rejudice and a narro\v one. 

The reasonable view, the artistic instinct, would be, 
I am sure, to consider each coleus and geranium as a single 
beautiful plant and therefore deserving employment in 
artistically conceived designs and appropriate sui-round- 
ings. It is a great mistake to consider the employment of 
a coleus or geranium as requiring any different general 
principle of landscape-gardening arrangement from that of 
shrubs and trees. The coleus is taken up in the fall — 
though there is nothing peculiar in that — and ne^v planta- 
tions of it made in the following spring, but lack of hardi- 
ness should affect not at all the necessity for applying the 
artistic principles of landscape gardening to all branches of 
the art. Color and form are given to the artist to use, 
whether it be in the shape of a coleus or an elm tree, 
and it is his business to see that the color and form are 
arranged in the composition in the most effective, hai'- 
monious, and pleasing way. The principles governing their 
arrangement are, moreover, the same in both cases. 

Now all this is doubtless evident as soon as we give the 
subject reasonable consideration. Why, then, the prejudice 
against the use of bedding plants, as evinced by persons 
of unquestionable taste. It must be mere thoughtlessness; 
foi- if they would only think for a moment, the}' must 
see that the arrangement of an oval bed of coleuses and 



218 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



centanreas into a glaring combination of stripes and foimal 
bands of red, wliite, and yellow, like some gigantic pastry 
cook's tart, does not prevent a better method being employed 
by a better designer. 

AVhen ^ve kave drawn a well-designed bed on paper, 
however, we have only commenced to solve the prol^lem of 
good designing for bedding. The scheme must be made to 
fit a certain spot, and must be harmonized and adjusted to 
its suiToundings. For instance, a certain decorative bed 
around the fountain at Union Square, New York, may look 




1. ALTERNANTHERA. 

2. ACALYPHA MACROPHYLLA. 



3. ACALYPHA MUSAICA. 

4, GERANIUM (dwarf). 



all right, while a similarly arranged bed on a Central Park 
meadow would shock the sense of harmony. 

Let us consider for a moment this ari'angement of bed- 
ding plants around the Union Square fountain. It is one 
t3^pical illustration. In good work of this sort, as I have 
mentioned, there must be a definite recognition of all the 
general principles of landscape-gardening art. Pro^^erly 
adjusted emphasis must be secured, and the treatment ap- 
proximated in miniature to that of the ordinary la\^n. 
Consequently we find in the Union Square illustration the 



BEDDING PLANTS. 219 



grass of the lawn represented by the dwarf, close-set alter- 
nautheras, the shrubs by the caleiises and geraniums, and 
the trees by the larger forms of the acalyphas. 

The relations of these pai'ts are, it will be seen, unlike 
those of the different features of the lawn, l)ut they are 
carefully studied, so as to bring them into artistic and 
effective relations with each other and ^^'ith the o-leamino; 
water and the floating pond-lilies. The higher parts of the 
bed are not so high as to obscure the effect of the water- 
2:)lants, and the lower parts have a sufficient expanse in 
places to afford the eye, although in miniature, a little of 
the pleasure of grass spaces. The eye is attracted from 
afar by the jewel-like effect of brilliant color, and yet when 
the fountain is reached all parts are so nicely adjusted to 
each other that the gaze, dwelling for a moment with de- 
light on the bedding, passes at once to the suj3erior charms 
of the water-lilies and fountain spray. AVhen we compare 
such a fairly adjusted and artistic arrangement of bedding 
as that around the Union Square fountain with the ordinary 
coleus bed found in many front-door yards, we begin to see 
why bedding is sometimes severely condemned. 

I think the main difficulty with most bedding is that 
the designer frequently fails to recognize the value of proper 
emphasis of pai'ts in arranging his flower and foliage beds. 
He uses cannas alone or he uses coleuses and geraniums 
alone. Out in the grass he sets a strange and intricate 
design of rosette-like echeverias and calls it a carpet-bed or 
rug, and thinks he is artistic. The plants are attractive 
individually, and the arrangement perhaps curious and in- 
teresting, but it is out of place, out of key, and improperly 



220 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



related to its Hurrouiidiiigs. Tliey seem iinliappy for lack 
of the congenial company tliey find in nature. 

As a rnle, it may be said that ornamental planting of 
this charactei", namely, bedding, should be restricted to the 
immediate neighborhood of architectural structures and to 
small city squares or greens, where the rigid lines of the 







BED OF CANNAS, COLEUSES, AND ACALYPHA5. 

neighboring masses of houses are inevitably, to the eye, 
associated with the semi-artificial-looking bedding, 

A favorable arrangement for bedding plants will be 
found directly against tihe wall of a large building. A solid 
background always enhances the attraction of a mass of 
bedding. First come the cannas, solanums, or other large- 
leaf plants against the wall, then acalyphas, coleuses, 
geraniums, and last pyrethrums and alternantheras. 



222 BEDDING PLANTS. 



There is one feature of the flower or foliao-e bed that is 
apt to look stiff and inartistic, and that is the extreme edge 
or border. This is usually too sharpl}^ cut in outline. The 
plants do not blend with the grass, and the sharp transition 
line is not agreeable. To overcome this stiffness of outline, 
single plants of the coleus or geranium size should be set 
out in the grass Just beyond the actual border of the bed. 
Then at various points throughout the bed the pyrethrum 
or alternanthera edging the masses of coleus or geranium 
should be brought forward close to the low border, and 
here and there several of them should be allowed to get 
over the border and establish themselves in the neighbor- 
ing grass. This will create a properly related emphasis of 
outline, a pleasing variety, and irregularity enough to just 
escape formality. There must be necessarily a certain pre- 
cision of lines, but the treatment should all the time bear 
a distinct and well-defined kinship to that employed by 
nature in our fields and pastures. 

I have now considered two common types of bedding, 
one a narrow border around the stone coping of a fountain, 
and another the frequently recurring case of a plantation 
against the wall of a building. 

There is another and still more important one, in the 
small city parks for instance, where there is no building or 
fountain around which to mass the bedding. In that case 
the bedding should be arranged as foreground to the shrub 
groups, leaving the main lawn space undiminished. An 
illustration of this arrangement may be seen in the half-acre 
lawn of Jeannette Park, on the East River, near the foot of 
Broad Street, New York, where belts of glowing coleuses 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



223 



aud pyretki'ums wind in and out in front of the irregular 
masses of shrubs and border their confines. At iri-eguLar 
intervals in. the belts of coleuses and gladioluses appear 
masses of cannas and acalyphas. 

The effect thus obtained is almost tropical-like in 
appearance, and yet in a certain sense subordinates itself 
to, and blends with, the masses of trees and shrubs. It is, 
moreover, bright aud cheerful, aud decorative, in a region 
full of dull brick and stone buildings, where such relief i ; 
particularly grateful. 

There is again the effect of 
bedding with a minimum of green- 
"svard at Jackson Square, Thirteenth 
Street and Eighth Avenue, where 
the open available centre for grass 
space was so small after the walks 
and boimdary plantations were 
made, that it was deemed better to 
fill nearly all the central space with 
a bouquet of foliage plants of many 
colors. The bed \vas an irregular 
star-shape, with cannas and acalyphas in the centre, and 
coleuses and geraniums and pyrethrums and alternantheras 
on the outside. 

Masses of bananas, cannas, acalyphas, geraniums, etc., 
are made to produce excellent effects by planting them in 
irregular masses up and down a steep bank, with smgle 
specimens of acalyphas and geraniums standing outside the 
main groups. I question much indeed whether coleuses 
and geraniums should be planted anywhere without such 




SWORD LILY. 

(gladiolus.) 



^>->-!- 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



large plants as carinas and acalypbas to emphasize and re- 
lieve anything like a flat monotonous effect. Even in the 
park at the foot of Canal Sti-eet, New York, one of the 
roughest and dirtiest of neighborhoods, where green grass 
is a priceless boon, a bit of massed cannas, acalyphas, 
coleuses, and geraniums have been introduced effectively 
^vithout injuring the open centre grass effect. 

Shade is of course all important to the small city park, 
and the shade of large trees is entirely de- 
structive to the growth of bedding plants, 
which need sun and air in abundance. 




FOUNTAIN. 

1. CANNAS. 

2. COLEUS VEHSCHAFFELTII. 

3. COLEUS KIRKPATRICK. 

4. GERANIUM (bLACK HAWK). 

5. GERANIUM (GENERAL GRANT). 

6. alternanthera (yellow). 

7. ALTERNANTHERA (REd). 



8. ACALYPHA TRICOLOR. 

9. ACALYPHA MACROPHYLLA. 

0. SALVIA SPLENDENS. 

1. SOLANUM WARSCEWICZIOIDES. 

2. CASTOR-OIL PLANT. 

3. ERYTHRINA CRISTA-GALLI. 

4. VINCA ROSEA. 



■T. = 1 INCH. 

15. LANTANA DELICATIS6IMA. 

16. CENTAUREA CANDIDISSIMA. 

17. PYRETHRUM AUREUM. 

18. DATURA. 

- - - - GREENSWARD. 



There are plenty of nooks, however, for bedding j)lants in 
small city parks that are not shaded, where they may be 
planted with excellent effect, adding much to the pleasure 
of many people. 

The system of bedding adopted around the Arsenal in 
Central Park shows the frequently recurring example al- 
ready mentioned of a wall bordered with grass and decorated 
Avith bedding plants. The large kinds, like cannas, castor- 
oil plants, solanums, etc., are natui'ally arranged against the 



BEDDING PLANTS, 225 

_ 

wall, and then tlie acalyplias and amarantus and geraniums 
and finally the pyrethrums and alternantheras. This is all 
regular and in due form, and so is the waving line of the 
border of bed both on the inside and out. 

The peculiar part of this arrangement of bedding lies 
in the way the large plants, such as cannas, etc., are brought 
forwai'd nearly to the front of the mass. Then across the 
border to the very grass are carried narrow clusters of 
acalyphas, geraniums, etc. These promontories of color are 
thrown out ^v^here the border of grass is narrowest, and in 
the bays of the l)edding single specimens of geraniums and 
acalyphas are set in the grass opposite the same 25lauts 
growing in the mass ; the whole arrangement being in- 
tended to impress the eye as a continually changing effect 
of recesses and bays and promontories and valleys of the 
richest color. 

The illustration, on the following page, of varying ellip- 
ses or discs, suj^erimposed one over the other, makes an 
excellent and artistic effect of broadly massed colors in 
bedding. 

The illustrations of beddino; I have thus far discussed 
briefly have been carefully designed in the following man- 
ner : Measurements were taken of the exact spot the pro- 
posed bed was to occupy, and the figure was drawn out on 
a sheet of paper, showing at the same time any adjoining 
buildings, walks, or shrub groups. A list of plants to be 
used in the bed was then made and their heights and colors 
at maturity written out. It then became a question of 
combining colors and various heights of plants into a single 

artistic effect. The outlines and proportions of the various 
15 



226 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



masses of plants were carefully sketched out in pencil and 
then the colors used were painted between the lines. When 
this original study had been carefully worked out, tracings 
on muslin, including color, were taken from it and given to 
the engineer. It was his duty to mark out the boundaries 
of the various parts of the bed with stakes. Then the 




1. MUSA. 

2. CANNA8. 



80 FT. IN DIAMETER. 
89TH ST. AND FIFTH AVE., N. 

3. ACALYPHA. 

4. COLEUS. 



B. COLEUS VER8CHAFFELTII. 



gardeners took the map, with its colored pattern and key 
or list of plants, and proceeded to execute the work of 
planting out the geraniums, coleuses, etc., in accordance 
with the design. 

Nor did the work of intelligent management end here, 
for from time to time throughout the summer it was the 



BEDDING PLANTS. 227 



Inisiness of the gardeiiei's not only to water aud cultivate 
the bedding plants, but also to prune them with intelligence 
and art. It is usually the practice to ])inch back coleuses 
and other plants in order to make them look even and thick, 
simply a broad, flat mass, but in this way all due emphasis 
of parts is lost. 

In fact no pinching whatever should be practised ex- 
cept here and there where a single plant grows awkwardly, 
or wdiere too even a surface appears. In some cases, even, 
as in Union Square, the acalyphas have been trained for a 
time on sticks to secure the strongest contrast possible be- 
tween the tree effect of the acalypha and the grass effect of 
the altei-nanthera. Pruning plants of all kinds, it should 
be remembered, means in its proper acceptation the 
development of natural and characteristic beauties. It 
means perfecting the special individuality of the plant. 
Judging fi-om the style of pruning we often see, the object 
of the art might be readily supposed to mean obliterating 
as far as possible all individuality. 

Having thus defined and illustrated briefly the main 
principles that should apply to the construction of a color 
or foliage bed, it would seem proper to consider some of 
the leading plants suitable for work of this kind. Taking 
them in the order of their employment, from the lowest to 
the highest, we have among the grass type the alternan- 
theras. They do not grow ordinarily over five or six inches 
high, and have close-set leaves not unlike those of grass. 
Their niarked peculiarity is found in their coloring. Each 
leaf is variegated in irregular fashion with green and red 
or green and yellow, the foundation color being green. The 



228 BEDDING PLANTS. 



best of the reel kinds are versicolor.^ anivena, and paronychi- 
oides / and of the yellow, aurea and aurea nana. 

Where these alternantheras do not appear as a grass 
effect throughout the mass of bedding, their proper place is 
on the extreme edge of the group. Such borders should 
never be of regular width, but should swell in and out of 
the general mass. The illustration of the bedding adjoining 
the Arsenal, Central Park, indicates this method of using 
alternantheras on the outskirts of the plantations. 

Belonging to the same grass ty23e and blending the 
larger plants of the bedding with, the greensward, are the 
centaureas, pyrethrums, and nasturtiums. The echeverias 
do not l)lend Avith a general mass of bedding. They are 
too dwarf and too stiff and formal in appearance, and 
should therefore be always used in designs by themselves. 
Indeed, to me their strange, rosette-like shapes are not alto- 
gether attractive, although they are certainly interesting 
and curious. Echeverias form the greater j)art of the 
famous carpet-beds and rugs constructed with so much art 
on many lawns. Two excellent echeverias are metallica 
and secunda glauca. 

Pyrethrums, sometimes called fever few, or golden 
feather, are also well suited for border bedding-plants. 
They are somewhat larger in growth than the alternan- 
theras, but their contour is soft and agreeable, and blends 
well with the general mass. The kind best suited for 
bedding is aureum^ on account of its bright yellow color 
and its dwarf habit. The same iri-egular treatment of a 
border arrangement applies as well to pyrethrums as to 
alternantheras. 



BEDDING PLANTS. 229 



There is one plant for which I desire to ask special atten- 
tion, on account of its fitness for border planting. It is an 
excellent and charming bedding-plant in every way. I refer 
to the well-known old plant, the nasturtium vine. There 
are some kinds more dwarf and less vine-like in habit, and 
therefore preferable for bedding. The leaf of the nastur- 
tium, with its slightly formal outline, round rather than 
oval, and its delicate shadings, is decorative individually. 
When we come, however, to mass a lot of these leaves in 
the irregular picturesque fashion in which they naturally 
grow, their full charms appear. These charms are specially 
effective as a border to color beds, especially if the arrange- 
ment is on a slope or bank. The tendrils of the nastur- 
tium push out over the turf, and break up the more or less 
stiff outline of the bed in the most attractive manner possi- 
ble. A certain restraint of this creeping nature will be, of 
course, necessary, to prevent the nasturtiums from over- 
I'unning the greensward on one side and the bedding-plants 
on the other. 

I have not spoken of the yellow and orange flowers of 
the nasturtium, although they are very attractive, because 
in color- and foliage-bedding the leaf is of prime importance, 
not only on account of the leaf lasting longer than the 
flower, but on account of the broad effects of color on the 
mass, which must be derived from the leaves. The flowers 
^vill undoubtedly increase the attraction of the bed, but 
they cannot be counted as one of the essential elements of 
the color-bedding design. 

An important part of all bedding is the clearly defined 
solid and distinct colors that can be used in combination 



230 BEDDING PLANTS. 



with each other. The collection of the variegated aud 
mixed colors may be attractively arranged in an irregular 
manner, but such kinds will rarely make that flashing, 
jewel-like effect that is exhibited by the solid self-colors of 
silver, red, aud gold. 

The most perfect type of the silvery or white effect is 
that of Centmirea candidissi7)ia. It is almost pure white, 
and forms in combination a clearly marked contrast with 
the red and yellow of the other plants. The two objections 
to it are : firstly, that it is not bushy enough, does not grow 
thickly on the ground ; and secondly, that it is hardly tall 
enough to use as a shrub form of bedding-plant and too 
large for the alternanthera or grass type. AVhere the com- 
bination will admit it centaureas should always be arranged 
as an irregular border outside of the geraniums or coleuses. 
They may be streaked through the coleuses, but if set in 
large patches within the mass the coleuses are apt to obscure 
them. 

The combination, side by side, of centaureas and gera- 
niums is difficult to manage well. The pyrethrums look 
better with geraniums, but geraniums, as a rule, look well 
grown in large masses together, with a few points of the 
mass accentuated with acalyphas and amarantus. These 
groups of geraniums can be greatly varied by using the 
many distinct varieties that are now grown. 

The main t3^pes of geraniums, however, that are specially 
useful in this kind of color- or foliage-bedding are the large 
yellowish green-leaved sorts with showy flowers, of which 
the General Grant variety is a well-known and popular 
instance. The second is the horseshoe geranium, with its 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



231 




DOUBLE GERANIUM. 



distinct and lovely leaf sliadiugs and less conspicuous 
flowers. Third and last comes tlie silver-leaved, well repre- 
sented by the variety Mountain of Snow. 
This variety stands the sun well. 

Geraniums are excellent for bedding 
throughout the summer until frost comes, 
and are comparatively free from disease. 
Their forms are picturesque and compact- 
growing, covering the ground well, while ""^l^ 
few bedding plants will grow in dry sandy 
soil better and continue to resist the effects 
of drought so long. The colors of the different kinds 
of geraniums mentioned above are so distinct that, on 
experiment, it will be found that the most effective com- 
binations can be made of their various tints. It is not a 
generally accepted statement, bat I believe it to be never- 
theless true, that every geranium bed should have a border 
round it of pyrethrum, alternanthera, or similar ])lants 
of the grass type. This is, of course, simply following out 
the principles of bedding design I have 
already laid down. 

We come now to the most important 
plant for color effect that we use in bed- 
ding. The coleus is widely known and 
appreciated. It has been propagated and 
varied by cultivation until its wonderful 
ca[)acity for sporting has given us an 
astonishino; number of the most diverse- 
looking sorts. The leaves are spotted, shaded, and striped 
with every conceivable tint of red, yellow, brown, purple, 




SINGLE GERANIUM. 



232 BEDDING PLANTS. 



uiid green. For the best designs of bedding, liowever, I am 
satisfied that tlie most valuable coleuses are those exhibiting 
nearly solid self-colors of red or yellow. The best exam- 
ples of these are probably Verscliaffeltii and golden bedder, 
red and yellow kinds. The first is, I am tempted to say, 
the best single kind of coleus we have for color-bedding, 
if not the best among all plants. There is no plant, I be- 
lieve, that presents a more brilliant Jewel-like effect in a 
bedding combination of colors than Coleus Verschajfeltii. 

There is no coleus that I know of which has solidly green 
leaves, but Kirhpatrich does duty fairly well in a green 
effect, its foliage being only slightly mottled with yellow. 
Coleuses are not as generally successful as geraniums, espe- 
cially in dry weather, and in early autumn disease is often 
liable to attack them. 

An excellent plant for a small tree effect in bedding is 
the Amarantus salicifolius. It is weeping and graceful in 
habit, and glowing with red tints. Its height at maturity 
is about three to four feet. 

A far ])etter plant, liowever, of the same type is the 
Acalypha. This plant is apparently little used in this 
country, but its large, rich-looking, variegated red and green 
leaves and its \veeping habit combine to give it a splendid 
effect in a foliage bed. I hardly know a bedding-plant 
except CoUks Verscliaffeltii that presents such a glowing 
red as the acalypha, and the acalyj^ha has the advantage 
of being a much larger and more graceful plant than the 
coleus. The place for the acalypha in a bed is next to the 
cannas where cannas are used. It cannot be associated 
effectively adjoining either geraniums or coleuses, being 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



233 




taller, two to three feet high, and growing much larger 
leaves. 

Salvia splendeu)^ is also an effective bedding-plant, 
o-rowinsi; two or three feet \\\\i}ci. Its 
foliao;e is attractive and thick-sfrowins;, 
and the flowers are s[)ecially attrac- 
tive, because they glow with a rich 
red late in autumn. 

Vinca, rosea, may be also used with 
excellent effect in this shrub type of ^-f%44^.!^^^^ 
bedding. Its rich green glossy leaves salvia lplendlns. 

are its chief attraction. The last and most important feat- 
ure of foliage-l^edding is the employment of the tree type of 
plants. First and most important of these are the canna 
effects. The well known Canna Indica has many varieties, 
but their general appearance exhibits on the la'wn great 
solid leaves extending from the ground six or eight feet 
high. Their tints of green run in some kinds into rich 
I'ed and purple luies. One of the best 
of these is Canna Elimanni of compara- 
tively recent introduction. The foliage 
is not as large as that of some other 
cannas, but it is solid and massive and 
banana-like, and the crimson-scarlet flow- 
ers hang in heavy clusters from the 
top of the plant, and continue in bloom 
throughout the season. The value of 
the canna in bedding lies chiefly in its 
leaves. Masses of these leaves seen even from some dis- 
tance have a specially tropical and pleasing effect, and 




CANNA INDICA. 



234 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



add greatly to the beauty of any part of a l)ed that they 
emphasize. Cannas shouhl be always used iu considerable 
masses. 

They are tiiberous-n^oted and not hai'dy, and these 
tubers should be taken up and kept through the winter in 
a dry cellar or greenhouse where the frost can be kept out. 
It is a good idea to start cannas in early spring, in pots, 
so that when they come to be set out they will be a 

foot or too high. In this way 
their full eifect ^vdll ])e ob- 
tained early in the season, 
cannas should be set out 
about a foot to fifteen inches 
/ apart, to secure their best 
effect in masses. 

A grand plant to associ- 
ate with cannas, because it 
serves to greatly develop and 
perfect their special foliage 
effect, is the l)anana plant 
( Miisa ensete). The leaves 
are enormously liigh and 
broad — eight to ten feet 
high and two feet broad, — dominating and yet resembling 
those of the cannas. Nothing can be more tropical-looking, 
— and the reddish tint of the midrib and adjacent veinings 
and the prevailing tint of green of the leaf is charming. 

The plan of associating the Musa ensete ^vith a mass of 
cannas is also valuable, because the Musa is thus enabled by 
the support of the canna leaves to resist high winds which 




BANANA PLANT. 

(musa ensete.) 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



235 




SOLANUM WARSCEWIC2IOIDES. 



are apt to beat it about and tear it. Musa easete is the 
stiffest-growing of its race, but the support of the caunas 
is nevertheless valu- 
able. These banana 



j)lants can be win- 
tered like the eannas 
in a warm cellar or 
cool greenhouse, and 
then potted for May 
planting. 

Other great mas- 
sive plants suited for 
the tree effect in 
bedding are the sola- 
nums. The leaves 

are large, thick, and deeply and picturesc^uely cut, and 
hang in drooping masses. It is altogether a massive-look- 
ing plant. 

The castor-oil plant is another ex- 
cellent instance of the ti-ee type for 
bedding. It is the tallest, perhaps, 
of all the plants used in bedding, 
and specially picturesque in growth 
and tinting. Its place, however, is 
among other plants, such as sola- 
nums, where its somewhat naked 
stem will be pro[)erly clothed and 
supported. The well-known ele- 
phant ear, Caladiuon esculent am. iwsiyhQ also nsed effectively 
in similar associations. 




ELEPHANT EAR. 

(CALADIUM ESCULENTUM.) 



236 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



I wijsh to say a word before closiug about the use of 
tulips, pansies, and daisies for spring bedding. It is really 
color-beddiug Avith flowers, rather than leaves, for the leaves 
at the early season when tulips bloom have hardly yet 
developed. The contrast t)f the pansies and daisies set out 
in the same pattern as that of the succeeding summer bed- 
ding is attractive and effective, but they are modest in the 
extreme in the presence of the tulips. 

By employing the I'ed, yellow, and white tulips in the 
summer-bedding patterns the most splendid effect of clear, 
pure, glowing color can be obtained. The 
large round bed at the entrance to Central 
^ Park, at Fifth Avenue and Fifty-ninth 
^^'^ Street, is thus planted in varying ovals 
that make broad masses of color, first white, 
then yellow, and then red next to the green 
o-rass. Red color forms a strikino; and 
pleasing contrast with the green of the 
grass, and is therefore generally arranged 
next to the greensward as shown in the diagram on 
page 226. 

The effect of tulip and pansy bedding is necessarily 
somewhat flat and monotonous in contour, but this naturally 
comes from using flowei's, as it were, alone for producing a 
color-effect. In only this way, however, can we secure 
early spring color-beds, because foliage plants such as 
cannas, coleuses, etc., cannot generally be planted out with 
safety in the climate of New York before May 20th. At 
that time tulips are, as a rule, done flowering, and pansies 
past their prime. 




NEW SINGLE TULIPS. 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



287 



Pansies are planted out in March and early April, being 
almost in bloom when set out, and tulip-bulbs are planted 
late in the fall of the year previous to that of Idooming. 
Two excellent red kinds of tulips are La Belle Alliance and 
Artus / among white kinds I would name white Pottebaker • 
and among the yellow kinds I would select Yellow Prince 
and Canary Bird. Due Van Tholl is a splendid red 
variety, but it is too dwarf, and blooms at a somewhat 
different time from those mentioned above. I do not insist 
on these varieties, but take them because they have clean, 
pure self-colors, and because they are of the same height 
and bloom at the same time. These are essential qualities for 
tulips to possess that are intended to be associated together 
in the same color-bed. 





CHAPTER XII. 

THE ORNAMENTATION OF PONDS AND LAKES. 



ID the reader ever have a place in the 
country ? If he has and does not 
Nvaut to grow sick of it, or if he has 
none, but hopes to have one, and 
does not want to be forced to give 
it up in disgust, let me give him a 
piece of advice. Don't undertake 



too much. Have only five hundred square feet of grass and 
one tree or half a dozen shrubs, but have all of the best. 
Dig deep, fertilize liberally, plant the best grass-seed and 
plenty of it, set out the lai-gest trees and shrubs that will 
be likely to grow, and care for them tenderly, year after 
year. Dig about them and prune them and spare no pains 
to make them the best of their kind ; or, let me say at once, 
that the reader's delight in nature and his desire to imitate 
her effects will not prevent the failure of his lawn-planting. 
All this is said in advance, because it applies as well to 
water-plants as to ordinary lawn-plants. 

I propose now, in a few words, to tell the reader how I 
came to attempt to grow, and to succeed, after much tribula- 

238 



PONDS AND LAKES. 239 

tion, ill growing, a good collection of water-plants, and how 
reasonably satisfactory water- effects were contrived on my 
lawns. At a comparatively early period in life, having 
a comfortable fortune, the desire took possession of me to 
have a country-place. 

With my countiy-place came the usual failures and 
successes that are incident to the construction of lawns and 
gardens in the hands of amateurs. The failures, I am frank 
enough to confess, much outnumbered the successes. I 
shall, however, content myself witli giving a brief account 
of my lily-pond work. The soil on my place, of one 
hundred acres, was gravel and sand, and a stream or pond 
on one side of it had a clean pebbly bottom and water that 
flowed rapidly down a decline. The water was only a few 
inches deep in many places. I thought it would be a good 
plan to dig out the bottom a bit, and in this way lost 
much valuable fertilizing material. However, I did not 
mind that, as I expected to dig a hole for each water-plant 
and to fill it up with good soil from the neighboring field. 
At this early period of my lawn-planting I unfortunately 
gave little thought to the quality of tlie soil, A charming 
magazine article had fallen into my hands and completely 
fascinated me with its dainty, fanciful description of lilies 
grown in a pond-hole or ditch. It all seemed so easy : Just 
a few water-plants set out in what appeared the easiest and 
simplest fashion, and lo ! you had a feast of lilies and lily- 
pads. The plants seemed to have Just grown themselves, 
like Topsy in '' Uncle Tom's Cabin." At this time I was 
greatly impressed with the idea of planting the lawn with 
trees and shrubs from the woods, sweet fern, sumach, 



240 PONDS AND LAKES. 



sassafras, dogwood, red cedar, pepperidge, hickory, etc. 
Of course, such plants frecpiently died, aud if they did live 
assumed a stunted form. As an old farmer of the neigh- 
borhood subsequently expressed it : "■ Well, I knowed 
them things you set out would die. I could have told you 
beforehand that crowded woods plants have poor roots. 
But then, you would n't have believed me if I had. Your 
plants Just up and died because a full dose of sunshine 
did not suit their shady constitutions." Considering this 
mania, you will not be surprised to hear that I visited 
a pond in the woods near by and dug up and transplanted 
to my own pond a large number of roots of white water- 
lilies. Other water-plants were naturally seciu'ed subse- 
quently in the same way. I need hardly say, after the 1 
above remarks of the farmer, that my water-lilies did not 
specially thrive. The lily-roots had not been grown for 
transplanting and were not, in most cases, young and 
thrifty, and the soil of the bottom of the stream or pond 
was not rich and suited to water-plants. However, among f 
the numerous water-plants I set out, many lived. They 
were strung along a straight, monotonous shore that I had 
dug out to a line to secure a neat appearance. I learned in 
after days that this arrangement was about as bad as could 
be imagined from a good lawn-planter's standpoint. The 
lilies and other water-plants grew slowly and the flowers 
were small. I had finally to acknowledge that my lily-pond 
and stream was not a success. As a result my interest in 
the plantation soon flagged, and except to gather a few 
lilies I seldom visited it. Weeds sprung up to its surface 
and drifted material made it untidy and unhealthy-looking. 



PONDS AND LAKES. 241 



Besides, about this time I sold this coiiutiy-place and so 
cannot say Avhat the lily-pond finally became, as I never 
revisited it. Much like any natural lily-pond in the woods, 
I fancy. Returning to the city, I continued to live there 
most of the time for several yeai's. Yet I never at any 
time wholly lost my interest in lawn-planting. Now that I 
had no country-place to absorb my attention, I went about 
at home and abi'oad and saw how other people succeeded 
and failed in their landscape-gardening eiforts. An impoi'- 
tant source of infoi'mation existed, I found, in the different 
nurseries. I did not take so much to the woods now' as 
aforetime. Concerning the construction of ponds and 
streams and the ornamentation of their surface with aqua- 
tic plants, I did not, however, secure as much information 
as I had hoped. At last, one day, I again met my fate and 
bought another country-place, only instead of a li-hndred 
acres as before it now contained less than ten. The soil 
was of excellent (juality, and there were on either side 
of the house some grand old native oak, elm, and tulip 
trees, and I planted a few large shrubs on the outer boun- 
daries. Paths and roads there were none, except one short 
carriage-sweep leading directly from the house to the high- 
way. Off to the west of the house sloped a half-dozen 
acres of meadow land, the rich velvety turf of which had 
known no plough for half a century. Sheep and cows had 
pastured it, and sometimes it had been mown. T mowed it 
and manured it too, and prided myself on the finest lawn to 
be seen in the county. At the foot of the slope came the 
feature which had chiefly induced me to buy the place. It 
was a broad placid stream fifty to one hundred feet wide, 

i6 



242 



PONDS AND LAKES. 



moving quietly down to a small neglected mill-pond that 
partially abutted my property. Across this stream I owned 
a narrow strip of land only an acre or two in extent, but 
enouofli to enable me to control the treatment of both 

shores of the stream. 

A rustic bridge joined 





■Mef 



these acres. The water 
was shallow, not more 
than, for the most part, 
two or three feet deep, 
and the grassy slope 



> extended to the very 



edge. 



It Avas a brim- 
\\ ^ ming sheet of -water, 1 
^i sometimes overflowing ■ 
^ its banks several feet 
up the steep lawnside. 
Here was my chance, 
I believed, to grow 
aquatic plants in per- 
fection. I proceeded 
at once to study the 
natural conditions of 
the spot, and tried 
to work on the same 
lines as nature had 
employed in this small territory ever since the dam had 
been built. Where the force of the stream had already 
managed to scoop out a small bay, I dug it still farther 
inland. In other words, I analyzed the forces in action 



QREEN-LEAVED BAMBOO. 

(arundo donax.) 



PONDS AND LAKES. 



243 



and aided and abetted their incliuations. If o-rasses and 
twigs had caught on a small projection of the shore 
and a little vegetation had sprung up and soil thus 
collected, I lengthened and broadened the projection and 
planted it with clumps of grasses, such as flag, bamboo, 
pampas grass, and the hardy 
Eulalia Jaimnica. Back of 
these, on more solid ground, I 
planted a willow and an alder, 
with some irises, and tender 
can n as and caladiums or 
elephant ears. I ^vas 
careful, moi-eover, to 
be conservative even 
in this natural treat- 
ment of my shores. 
There was no frequent 
repetition of the prom- 
ontory and bay idea. 
At only a few points 
was any change made 
in the original line of 
the shore. Such changes 
as I did make, however, 
were forcible and marked and carefully adjusted in the exact 
direction and angle that the stream woidd be likely to take 
when it worked its fantastic way before a raj^tid current or 
overflow. Grasses and shrubs suited to low grounds, of the 
kinds I have named, w^ere scattered in small groups about 
the points running back, sometimes quite a distance, up the 




PAMPAS GRASS. 

(gynerium argenteum.) 



1 



244 PONDS AND LAKES. 



bank. In the midst of these groups grew some higher 
shrubs or small trees like the birch, for the sake of empha- 
sizing the effect and giving variety of sky-line. I do not 
wish to be needlessly technical, but if you could see the 
two great Lombardy poplars, forty feet high, bordei'ing and 
. -. making a frame, as it were, for my place, 

^l^wJ^W'^SO' %^ y^^^ ^\^oul<l undei'stand ^vllat T mean by 
'/'i5^:i\;<f/' ^'^S emphasis. Great towers of screen, these 
^^^^^^V$%^/W^J poplars seem to be mountmg guard over 
my small domain, and their long shadows 
at sundown reach far across the stream 
and the grass of the meadow beyond. I 
am not going to apologize for my pop- 
£L,LAL!A \^\"S,. They \vere and are grand, and I am I 

(jAPONICA ZEBRINA ) 1 J? X 1 ''P J- 

proud ot them, iree-experts may warn 
me that they are liable to borers and bark-lice, and that they 
lose their leaves early in the season, and in many Avays 
invite the use of the axe. It may be so. I have enjoyed 
them, however, for a number of years and they are entii'ely 
healthy yet, although surely a score of years in age. It Avill 
be a long time, therefore, before an axe undei- my direction 
will touch them. Even the tendency to lose their leaves 
early in the season would not induce me to use the axe, for 
their lofty spire-like forms dominate everything and estab- 
lish that variety of sky-line so much to l)e desired by the 
lawn-planter. Let the limbs be bare and the trunk scarred 
and seamed with borers, the noble outline is there, and 
shrubs and small trees can be made to screen the lower and 
generally uglier portions. It should be remembered also, 
that an occasional pruning, as the years go on, tends gi'eatly 
to renew and perpetuate the poplar's health and vigor. 



PONDS AND LAKES. 



245 



But, the reader will say, wliere is the lily-puiid i You 
have tohl us about your lawn with its stream aud old niill- 
poud, but where are your lilies ? AVell, I answer, do not be 
in a hurr^'. I assure you if I had not selected and arranged 
my lawn and water properties as I did, the lilies I might 
have set out ^vould have been of much less account than 
they are. Remember the lilies on my former place. In 



#. .■'/;!, 



^,-' ^^-^'^ 



* ■* 




BORDER OF THE FOUNTAIN, UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK.— LOTUSES AND WATER-LILIES. 

truth, without some of the characteristics of my present 
law^n the proper setting for the clustering water-lily gems 
would have been absent. And think what a setting they 
had now — great poplars, drooping willows, alders, waving 
grasses, purple irises, purple marsh-mallows growing on prom- 
ontories of a l)rimming river liacked by a sloping bank of 
rich greensward. In the coves, chiefly, of my stream and 
pond were set my lily-jewels. The Ijottom of the ^vater 



246 PONDS AND LAKES. 



was deepened and a foot of soil, not in spots but along the 
entire front, was replaced by the richest mixture I could 
make of mould and manure. Pond-lilies are great feeders, 
and I intended to give them the best chance I could to 
look their prettiest. For the Nelumhiums or lotuses con- 
siderable clay is needed. Fortunately, my soil had nat- 
urally plenty of clay. I used, moreover, other kinds of 
water-plants besides lilies, and some of them, as well as 
certain lilies, were tender, coming as they do originally 
from the tropics. 

The tender ones I bought ane^v every year, at a moder- 
ate expense, from one of the few growei's in America. I 
may have expended during some years one hundred and 
even one hundred and fifty dollars, but it was a small sum 
compared with the amount necessary to keep up a green- 
house fitted with suitable tanks. Water-lilies and aquatic 
plants ^vinter badly in cellars. They are easily excited to 
grow by a little excfess of light and heat, and as easily 
checked and injured by an excess of cold. Except a few 
kinds, such as the wonderful blue and purple water-lilies of 
Zanzibar, which I bought yearh, I have therefore managed 
to content myself with a number of perfectly hardy aqua- 
tics, including some of the best water-lilies and lotuses. 
Doubtless the biggest, grandest, and most effective of these 
was the lotus Nelwtnbium speciosum. This plant is the 
greatest feeder of all, and will thrive prodigiously in the 
richest, rankest mud that can be concocted. It will, in 
fact, crowd out most other plants, and should be thinned 
every year so as to appear in clusters and not in monot- 
onous masses extend inir from shore to shoi-e. This Nelum- 



PONDS AND LAKES. 



247 



hiwin is widely known in India and Japan as the lotus, and 
is there considered sacred and is freely copied in their 
decorative designs. It is also probably the lotus of ancient 
Egypt. 

Picture for yourself a pumpkin-leaf erected three or 
four feet high on a stem, and great buds that look, for all 
the world, like gigantic tea-rose buds, and you will have a 



"v. 




w 



AN ARRANGEMENT OF LOTUSES AND LILY-PADS. 



fair idea of the general appearance of the lotus. Of course, 
the leaves of the lotus are more finely veined and smoother 
and more shining of texture, and the flowers grander and 
richer in tint than the tea-rose bud ; but, for all that, the 
pumpkin-leaf and tea-rose bud comparison is a suggestive 
one. The l)otanical name of the lotus, Nelumbinm^ signify- 
ing a rose or spray of a watering-pot, is very descriptive of 
the curious seed-pod. There is a fine Nehnnhiuni, native to 



248 



PONDS AND LAKES. 



Amei'ii'.-i, ;i \i'lK>\\ lotus witli excellent foliage, wliieli is 
found in oue or two places in New Jersey, but wliicli 
cliieiiv abounds in Florida and other Southern and Western 
States. The leaves of tliis species are (pilte as noteworthy 
as those of the familiar XtJin)iI>liini sjx'cio.^iiii). These are 
often two feet in diameter. 




A GROUP ei|- JAPANESE LOTUSES. 
INELUMBIUM SPECIOSUM. I 



The lot us leaves and iiowers are decorati\ e and striking 
in effect, but the true water-lilies, tlie N//fnj)Ji(V((S, are, after 
all, T am inclined to say, the best ornanu'ntal ^\■ate^-l>hults. 
Following- out nn' Tjond)ai'dy poplar idi'a of emphasis, I 



PONDS AND LAKES. 249 



used iiuiii}' lotuses \\\ iVoiit of luy bi-ook and pond promon- 
tories. But in all uiy ex[>ei'ini('nts with a(piatic ])lants I 
never cdiaiiced on any [(ond-effects (juite ('(|ual to tluit of 
my cov^es of NiiniphuMtH in niidsununer. Fancy a (juiet, 
niin-oi-dike surface of water, studded Avitli clustering masses 
of lily-pads, enfolding half-open flowers, nestling yet buoy- 
ant. Every one is familiar with scenes in woodland nooks 
resembling this in kind. The remarkable difference on my 
])lace was that my trees and shrubs, grasses and flowers, 
came to the water's edge and w^cre miri"or<'d tliei-e, and that 
in front and about them floated and were i'<'flected lily-[)ads 
of ex(;ellent size and coloi-ing. The ilovvers also of these 
great tropical lilies were especially large and ri<-hly lined, 
some species being pure white, othei-s i-ed, and still others 
purple and dee[) bbnv I have had these watei'dilies and 
other watei'-plants glowing on my place now for several 
years, l)ut T confess that, even at the present time, familiar 
as they are to me, ^^■hen \ look at one of these blu(i lilies on 
an early summer morning I am impressed with the scene as 
an absolute revelation of beauty, a landscape featui-e posi- 
tively uni(pie. 

I am not going, on this occasion, to give an account of 
all the aquatic })lants I grow. T have the tender Pontederia 
craHHipea^ a floating plant with cui-ious oi'chid-like purple 
flowers, watei-poppies, pitchei'-plants, cat-tails, and a score 
of other species and varieties that I shall not enumerate. 
All these kinds of water-plants doubtless add greatly to 
the attractions of decorative waters, but, after all, it is the 
lotuses and lilies, or lilies and lotuses, not giving the prece- 
dence to either, that every one ought to want. Having 



250 



PONDS AND LAKES. 






oiice had them, any decorative piece of water without them 
will seem almost uninteresting, no matter what other water- 
plants are employed. 

Let me say here, before I forget, that spaces of clear 

surface among water-plants, with undisturbed reflections, 

are particularly necessary to secure the best effects. The 

whole surfcice of the pond should be no more covered up 

with water-lilies than fine rocks should 

^' ~ , be completely masked with climbing 

vines. 

To explain to the reader which are 

the tender and which are the hardy 

kinds would be a lengthy task, 

and I must refer him to the 

nearest nurseryman who grows 

a(|uatics. Better not grow 

many tender plants, would 

be my advice to the ordinary 

amateur lawn-planter. 

The success of this treat- 
ment of my stream certainly 
affords me great 2)leasure, 
and I need hardly say I am 
proud of it. It has, however, done more than that. One 
or two of my neighbors are, I see, already following my 
example, with promising results. In the village, also, near 
by, there is a fountain, and in the basin I have persuaded 
the authorities to arrange some boxes of lilies and lotuses 
renewed every year with [)urchased plants, and in place of 
a great iron Neptune, painted white and surrounded by white 




AN ARRANGEMENT OF WATER-LILIES 
AND PAPYRUS. 



PONDS AND LAKES. 251 



iron cherubs spouting little jets of water, a graceful spray 
effect lias been introduced. Waterdilies and lotuses lend 
themselves charmingly to the decoration of fountain basins, 
especially if they are used in moderation and do not cover 
up more than a fair half of the entire surface of the water. 

Before closing this account of my experience in growing 
water-plants, I must refer to the introduction of water-lilies 
and lotuses in the parks of New York. Some four years 
since, a year or two after I l)ecame Superintendent of 
Pai'ks, my mind Avas turned, as well as that of my assist- 
ants, to the subject of growing lilies in the Central and 
city parks. We knew they had been grown to a limited 
extent in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, and conceived the 
idea of using them largely in New York. 

At Urst we bought a considerable number, say five 
hundred dollars' worth, from Mr. Sturtevant, of Borden- 
towu, N. J., the father of water-lily culture in Amer'ica. 
For the last two years, however, we have bought little and 
propagated much, so that at present ^ve have an abundance. 
We have tanks constructed in the green-houses, where, by 
means of high bottom-heat, we can grow the most tender 
aquatic plants. Our most ambitious, if not our earliest 
attempt, was the construction of a lily-pond. In Central 
Park we have nothing like the stream and pond effect 
on my own place, and we found that it would be neces- 
sary to treat our lakes in a larger and more expensive 
way. As a first essay we dug out a pond close by^ and 
forming as it were part of, what is termed Conservatory 
Lake, just north of the gate at 72d Street and Fifth 
Avenue. The general shape of this pond \vas oval, with 



25:3 



PONDS AND LAKES. 



Aviuding, irregular shores, bounded by a liigli bank on 
tlie east side and a great willow drooping over tlie north 
end. Rocks were disposed in the immediate banks, so as 
to suor^est a natural formation rather than an artificial 
pond. The bottom, scarcely three feet deep, ^vas cemented 
tight as a cup, and the water ll()\ved gently in at one end 

and out at the 
.„._.,. -rr--:- - n . ..-.,. othcr, aud so 

through a 
basin into the 
sewer. Eigh- 
teen inches of 
soil was made 
rich with ma- 
nu]'e aud de- 
/i posited over 
.. the bottom. 
This soil was 
renewed more 
or less evei'V 
}'ear. Masses 
of fi()^vering 
shrubs and 
small trees, 
such as the hydrangea, Splnea opulifolla^ and purple beech 
and l>irch formed a ])ackground of foliage on the steep 
hillside sloping up to Fiftli Avenue. The lotuses (N. 
speciosum) in this pond ^vere disposed in a solid mass 
at the north end along the steepest banks. There the 
observer can look d()^vn and see them mirrored on the surface 




THE CENTRE OF THE FOUNTAIN, 
UNION SQUARE. 



PONDS AND LAKES. 



253 



of the water in the most eft'ective way. Masses of the hirge 
liardy white lily ( N. alha candidissima ) , and the Vjeautifiil 
little white one ( N. pygnuva)^ the size of a half dolhir, the 
Cape Cod pink lil}', and several other 
kinds grow permanently in the mud of 
the bottom. Tender ones, like 







BETHESDA FOUNTAIN BASIN 
CENTRAL PARK. 



■ ' the blue and red varieties 
( N. Devonie7isi-% N. Zanzi- 
,^l^ Jxirensis azurea and rosea J.Sire. 

■ planted in lx)xes filled with rich compost and 
removed to the park greenhouses every year. The season to 
enjoy this pond at its l)est is about ten o'clock in the morn- 
ing, — later than this tlie heat of the suii gradually closes 



254 PONDS AND LAKES, 

many of the blossoms, aud earlier tban niue some of the kiuds 
have not yet opened their flowers. A sight of this pond in 
August and early in September is worth a considerable jour- 
ney to see ; and hardly less, effective are the lotuses and lily 
plantations in boxes to be seen in the great fountain-basin 
at the Terrace. 

Yet probably moi-e effective, and certainly more attrac- 
tive, on account of location, is the Union Square fountain, 
with its beautiful spray of watei- and vigorous water-plants, 
and in addition its outside collar of red alternanthera swai'd, 
planted with islands of geraniums. By electric light in the 
ev^ening, or in the early morning sunlight, the effect of these 
lily-pads and lotus-leaves bedewed with globules of water 
is mairical. Half a dozen, in fact, about all the fountain- 
basins in down-to^vn New York are treated in this manner, 
and at almost any time befoi'e midnight, scores of people 
are gathered about them enjoying the beauties of the lilies 
and lotuses — nor, as the years go on, does the interest in 
them seem to flag. Indeed, among all decorations for 
architectural structures where a [)ool of water can be in- 
troduced, I believe there is nothing that can excel the lily 
and lotus. So confident am I of this, that I believe the 
time is not far distant wdien no fountain-basin Avill be 
considered completely equipped without them. In Central 
Park we have already begun to plant the shores extensively 
with them. At present this applies especially to the Pool at 
100th Street and Eighth Avenue. There is a good deal of 
labor required in the preparation of rich soil on the shores, 
but we hope, nevertheless, in a few years to have our lakes as 
well stocked with lilies and lotuses as our fountain-basins. 




CHAPTER XIII. 

LAWN-PLANTING FOR SMALL PLACES. 



FIE word home lias a, pleasant sound. 
Indeed, one of the best signs of 
the times is a growing regard for 
home adornment. Practical con- 
siderations of simple comfort and 
show have long received too ex- 
clusive attention ; l)ut as we settle 
down more and more into a mature 
nation, the pleasantness of home gains in importance. In 
other words, our homes are becoming more characteristic, 
because we are learning duly to esteem and study them. 
They picture more truly the mind of the occupant or 
owner, because the occupant or owner is becoming more 
truly their architect and creator. 

Doubtless fashion attracts many to this work, and 
makes vague enthusiasm the impelling motive, i-ather than 
love of art. But such motives or impulses are not alto- 
gether deplorable. Societies for the encouragement of 
decorative art flourish and grow strong. Hard times de- 

255 



256 LA WN-PLANTING 

velop latent tnleut that would have otherwise lain fallow; 
and all things conspire to favor the advancement of home 
art. Then how home-like and refined and beautiful this 
\vork is making our houses ! We may be very superficial 
nowadays, — very much inclined to I'un about the world ; 
but sui'ely our fathers, with all their domestic virtues, 
never had such lovely homes. Pretty devices in furniture, 
hangings, and a hundred simple things are noticeable every- 
where as the work of the ladies and gentlemen of the 
hcmse. Native taste, genius, association, and instinctive 
imitation, all combine to develop the true home artist. 
Yet models we must have, and princiides we must recog- 
nize, and this in spite of the fact that most excellent 
work is done without conscious application of principles. 
Query: Does not this imconscious application of princij^les 
partake of the nature of genius ? Let it be what it may, 
however, ordinary mortals, iii their artistic struggles, are 
greatly helped by a few practical rules. Confiding in this 
belief, we ask a similar interest in bt)tli principles and prac- 
tice of a definite, though not generally accepted, species of 
home art. We assert, in other words, that home art should 
not confine itself within doors, l)ut should exert its influ- 
ence on the immediate neighborhood of the house. Some 
of the most delightful houi's of home life are spent on the 
piazza or lawn. It is, moreover, a pleasant hospitality that 
offers attractions on the lawn to the passer-by. But the 
sovereign diflSculty that stands in the way of good lawn- 
planting, and especially of good lawn-planting for small 
places, is a widespread ignorance oi lawn-plants. Numer- 
ous streets and shops offer instructive lessons to the decor- 



FOR SMALL PLACES. 257 

ator of the house and its contents. Hundreds of homes 
present tasteful exam2)les of artistic work of many kinds. 
The study of lawn-planting, however, seems strangely neg- 
lected. Yet why is it ? Are there no profitable examples 
to be found in parks or private grounds ? And if there 
are, why do not people study them ? 

There are doubtless many who visit or communicate 
with such ])laces, but how is it generally done ? If they 
visit, they do it hastily and learn little. If they communi- 
cate, it is to ask about some plant which has struck their 
fancy. Whether it suits any position on their grounds 
they do not consider, and perhaps do not care. In like 
manner parks are looked over. They are but seldom 
studied. Now, if we are to bave good work, the workman, 
or at least the deviser of the work, must know his mate- 
rial. You see, we are assuming that the lawn-planter of 
small places is also the owner. Seldom, indeed, can the 
owner of any small place afford a gardener of taste and 
knowledge ; and the charm, moreover, of this peculiar spe- 
cies of work is its unprofessional character. It must have 
originality, variety, and no hackneyed forms, if it is to be 
of the best type. We hesitate, therefore, to fix anything 
like arbitrary rules, for fear they may be misunderstood 
and adhered to slavishly. Yet there are practical consider- 
ations and desirable artistic results growing out of the 
nature of plants that necessitate the use of rules. We 
cannot, of coui-se, properly treat of the habits of plants in 
a short chapter, nor of all the rules that govern their employ- 
ment on small places. Nevertheless, it will be our endeavor 

to set forth intelligibly a few important suggestions concern- 
17 



258 LA WN-PLANTING. 



iug woi'k of this kiDd. We may illustrate them also by ap- 
plying them to ordinary grounds. Lawn-planting for small 
places, as we propose it for popular employment, is a simple 
harmonious arrangement for the exhibition of individual 
plants. No one need fear, either, that the application of this 
principle will mar the eifect of properly constructed masses. 

Broad mass eifect cannot be obtained satisfactorily, and 
therefore individual beauties must be emphasized in the 
selection and disposition of plants. 

One of the most important considerations in planting a 
lot in this case as well as in others, is the disposition of 
shrubbery and trees about the lawn in a way that will 
secure single, open spaces of turf. These groups of shrub- 
bery or trees should be arranged on the more j^rominent 
curves of walks about entrance gates, or the outer 
boundaries of the place. The object in view will be partly 
to secure the above-mentioned open spaces of turf, but 
chiefly to vary the effects and produce sudden, unexpected 
beautiful features. A¥e should also seek to convey the 
idea that the path leads through the midst of a natural 
and picturesque group. These devices and the creation of 
miniature vistas will tend to give the place an appearance 
of greater size than is actually the case. It need scarcely 
be said that the curves of all the walks should be easy and 
flowing. Our sense of the graceful requires it, and practi- 
cal experience proves its correctness. A horse, when tak- 
ing the wagon directly to a given point without special 
guidance, always follows these long, easy curves. Indeed, 
the inexperienced driver is often bothered by the short 
curves of a circular road. 



260 LA WN-PLANTING 



A comparatively general principle is always to employ 
rhododendi'ons, hardy azaleas, Japanese maples, and other 
choice dwarf evergreen and deciduous shrubs directly about 
the house or on the walks near by. About the outskirts of 
the lawn, the entrance gates, and Junction of paths, may 
be massed the larger-growing shrubbery and trees, if your 
door-yard is large enough to have any. They will serve to 
frame in the landsca]^^)e, or to shut out undesirable views. 
We ]'efer, of course, to medium-sized places of an acre 
or less. Within the skirting plantations of such places, 
few, if any, trees of large size should l:>e used. Indeed, two 
or three elms, oaks, or lindens will come in time to occupy 
large sections of what should be entirely open space. Trees 
in great number, moreover, tend to make the plot look small 
and monotonous and the turf moss-grown and sparse. A 
few second-class trees, here and there, if the place is large 
enoucrh, relieve and enrich the lawn Avithout interfei'ino; Avith 
the elfect of larger shrul^bery. Large trees may be allowed 
at intervals on the extreme corners and outer boundaries, 
should the 2)lace be say half an acre in extent, to frame in 
the picture and diversify the contours and sky-line of ex- 
terior shrub groups. Sanitary conditions likewise demand 
a similar arrangement. 

The position of the house also requires study. If space 
and full effect are desired, and no local peculiarities bar, 
it should be placed on one side so as to mass in a single 
la\vn as much land as possible. This will broaden and 
enlarge generally the effect of the place. All fences should 
be screened more or less with shrubbery or hedges, although 
the last, as generally used, are foi-mal and therefore objec- 



FOR SMALL PLACES. 261 

tionable. Furtlieriiiore, few, if any, arcliitectural adoninieiit, 
siicli as statues, vases, etc., slioiild l3e allowed, Tliey are 
pretentious, artificial, and not in keeping witli a natural 
style of tLe best landscape gardening. In the highly 
artificial gardenesque or geometric style they have, of 
course, their place, but of this we do not speak, as it is ill 
fitted for small rur;il homes. Summer-houses, gates and 
arbors, rockwork and waterfalls (the last two in secluded 
nooks, if at all), nuist be employed in the places under 
consideration to give whatever variety is desired other than 
trees and grass. 

Another special 2>oint to be studied is the preservation 
of pleasing views, or vistas, in neighboring grounds. They 
may be framed in with attractive groups, which may at the 
same time plant out disagreeable, ungraceful objects. Pro- 
vide, at least, one open range or view throughout the 
greatest depth of the lot, but not exactly through the 
centre line. A line, for instance, from the middle of the 
end adjoining the public road to the extreme corner in 
the rear is more desirable than several short vistas. This 
device tends greatly to increase the sense of novelty and 
distance, and lessens any apparent stiffness. 

If the division fence must bo kept up between adjoining 
lots, and no common lawn used, this fence should be also 
adorned with deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. 
These may be planted, ii desired, at intervals to retain 
attractive glimpses and vistas as above suggested. 

In all groups which define boundaries of the place, 
special care should be taken to avoid uniform horizon 
lines. Vary them ^\-ith a few spire-like trees and shrubs 



262 LA WN-PLANTING 



now and tlien — birches and cypresses, Tmnarix Indica and 
Hibiscus Syriacus,—-^\\\c]i should also mark informally 
the corners of the lot, and complete, as it were, the frame 
of the picture. What we mean by informally is an avoid- 
ance of regular interv^als or geometric arrangement. 

As a rule, also, never plant a large, dark evergreen in 
front of, and mixed with, a lot of brilliant, light-colored, de- 
ciduous trees, for thus planted it will dwarf and weaken the 
effect of the latter. On some lawns of good size, however, 
a few massive dark evergreens may be used with effect in 
the extreme and, if possible, northwest corner of the lot. 
They will protect and give character to the place, and 
heighten the effect of the deciduous trees. A striking 
contrast may \)^ obtained by interspersing a few white 
birches among, and in front of, these evergreens. They 
will serve, in this case, to l)righten the picture both winter 
and summer, — though usually I prefer not to mix ever- 
green and deciduous trees. This harmonious and contrast- 

o 

ing disposition of color requires careful study, and even 
perhaps a natural gift. For instance, it is better to intro- 
duce gay, bright colors in well-judged proportions. A few 
bright flowers of deep red, blue, or yellow, will have a 
better effect dispersed here and there about the lawns than 
in one great mass. Introduce them, so that l:)y means of 
their different natures there will be always during the 
season a fe^v gay points in the picture. 

The turf borders of walks must present a true curve, and 
both sides be on a level. Their height should not be more 
than two inches or less than one. Great depth of border 
utterly destroys the effect of a walk. 



FOR SMALL PLACES. 



263 



— for we will say this mucli of grading 
educed to a perfect level. They should 



Lawns generally 
— should never be r 
be raised in the 
centre, or the sur- 
face be given the 
aj^pearance of a hol- 
low. The side lawn 
should generally as- 
sume a more or less 
slitjfht incline tow- 
ard the division 
fence. The rear 
lawn, if there is 
any of considerable 
relative size, should 
be graded, if pos- 
sible, in like manner 
with the front. Of 
course, special con- 
ditions will vary 
any such rules. 
Their simple ob- 
ject is to increase 
the variety, and 
thereby produce a :PuMic :Eoad 

-. . , SUGGESTIONS FOR LAWN-PLANTING- 

more pieasmg anCl ^^ ^^^^^ lawn trees; 2, trees of moderate growths; 3, DECIDUOUS 

-, na . -,-■ SHRUBS OF moderate GROWTHS; 4, RARE AND DWARF DECIDUOUS AND 

natural eiieCt. AJl evergreen shrubs; ?, evergreen TREES. LARGE SHRUBS EIGHT FEET 

APART, — SMALL SHRUBS FOUR FEET APART, — HEDGE PLANTS TWO FEET 

,1 • APART. RULES TO BE VARIED SOMEWHAT, ACCORDING TO THE NATURE OF 

this, moreover, the plant used. 

gives the place a larger and more picturesque appear- 
ance. In offering these few principles of an art capable of 




Side-iralk 



264 LA WN-PLANTING 

j)roduciiig so niauy diversified effects, I have endeavored 
to be sufficiently intelligible to secure their easy application. 
My language, ho\'vever, may necessarily lack sometimes '^^ 
clearness and picturesque force. I therefore present a design 
which fairly illustrates the simpler forms of lawn-planting 
as it should be exercised on small lots. 

The first point that has been, and nmst always be, care- 
fully studied is the location of the house in such manner as 
to keep as much of the lawn together as possible. Here the 
house is placed as it should be, near one side. If feasible, 
it should also be on the north or west of the lot, thereby 
securing the better protection for shrubs and flowers. 

Immediately about the house may be gathered singly, or 
in gi'oups, rare and choice deciduous and evergreen shrub- 
bery, such as hydrangeas, hardy azaleas, Japanese maples, 
and the many beautiful dwarf conifers. These should be 
so arranged as to produce the most varied and favorable 
effect of color and form of which the plants are capable. It 
is usually necessary to thus retain only low-growing plants 
close to the house, for in this way only can the full archi- 
tectural effect of the structure be secured. The exquisite 
and delicate attractions of choice plants demand also a posi- 
tion near the house where they can be easily seen. Any 
curve of the paths neaiiy adjoining a building may be thus 
ornamented, for the small size of the plants will leave all 
views and vistas as seen from the house unobstructed, — 
quite as important a point to be looked after as the proper 
exhibition of the architectural effect of the house. It will 
be therefore noticed that even the less immediate neis-hbor- 
hood of the house is left unplanted with large-sized shrubs 
or even second-class trees. The main feature of the place 



FOR SMALL PLACES. ^65 

must evidently be the liouse, and therefore in devising 
prominent vistas and near or distant views we must take 
")ur stand at or not far from this point. Minor standpoints 
may of course be taken when some special effect is desired. 
Failure to contrive the landscape grouping from these 
established standpoints often weakens if it does not spoil 
lawn-planting, which is otherwise good and effective. 

The curves of the walks or foot-paths are long and easy, 
reaching their destination in a natural and pleasing manner. 
All the junctions of paths and the main curves are planted 
with shrubbery in an irregular and informal manner. 
Furthermore, they are usually arranged ^vith a view to 
suggesting the idea that the path is winding thi'ougli single 
masses of flowers. It is not proposed in this plan to reserve 
any space for a vegetable garden, not only for want of room, 
but because it is notorious that vegetables thus grow^n are 
very expensive and troublesome. If exercise in gardening 
pursuits is desired, the same amount and a similar kind of 
work may be had in the culture of trees and shrubs as in 
that of vegetables ^s\^^\ more generally satisfactory results. 
All necessary objects, not interesting in a picturesque way, 
such as drying-ground, entrance to the rear of buildings, 
tool-sheds, etc., should l)e shut out with deciduous shrubs. 
The front of these hedges or belts of shrubbery may be 
diversified by planting here and there occasional choice 
specimens. 

The extreme end of the grounds may be also entered, 
if desired, by a path ^vhicll should wind among shrubbery 
in somewhat obscure fashion, and come out suddenly on 
the lawn. The approach or entrance to the house is, in 
this case, somewhat formal and straight, for the sake of 



266 LA WN-PLANTING 

couvenience, which must at times overrule considerations 
of beauty. It is well planted Avith shrubbery, however, to 
relieve all stiffness and vary the straight line. This system 
also introduces the pleasant element of surprise, as the full 
effect of the lawn is only presented after the place has been 
faii'ly entered. Flowing, graceful lines, with one exception, 
are retained everywhere, especially in the vistas that extend 
off to the full depth of the lot. On the most extended side, 
the vista takes a slanting direction across a croquet-ground, 
reached by a winding path and fronted by a summer-house 
in the extreme corner. This simple, inexpensive rustic 
structure — shown in the lawn-planting study — looks out 
toward the house over the croquet-ground, down the most 
attractive vista of the place. About it should climb 
vines, honeysuckles, etc., and some flowering shrubs. The 
entire feature is finely crowned, and perfected by associat- 
ing with it a slender, drooping, cut-leaved birch, with tender 
gray or light-green foliage and gleaming white bark. It will 
thus form one of the corner posts, or prominent points that 
define the outline of the picture, and, at the same time, 
constitute a most interesting and ^picturesque termination 
for a walk. One such feature is almost enough for a small 
place. Architecture should be confined, as a rule, to the 
house structure, and the lawn devoted to plants. Even 
rockwork, except in peculiar spots, lias hardly a place on 
any small lawn, for reasons that should be obvious. AVhat- 
ever portion of the summei*-house appears from among tlie 
vines and surrounding foliage is intended to show a rustic, 
graceful, and solid structuj-e. Simple rustic seats may, of 
course, be erected in suitable positions, but should not be 
made architecturally prominent. As a rule, however, chairs 



FOR SMALL PLACES. 



267 



^e, witmii sale limits, tne picxui- .Vi-^ 

eet of the place, and to lend J'i<^^\^W^\ '' A' 

:ion of the scene a cosey, home- S^'i '',\\,| jff /'"^S. 

!ct. Indeed, we have sought to ' , /, ;^^ ^^v\ 3 ' 






may be carried from tlie porch or veranda to any spot on so 
small a [)lace. The planting on the walks directly fronting 
the summer-house should he made specially attractive by 
the employment of choice and dwai'f trees and shrubs. 
The simple design of using a summer-house at all, has been 
to increase, within safe limits, the pictur- {p3 

esqiie effet 
that porti 
like aspect. 

give the entire place a similar 
natural appearance. Good lawn- 
planting should make it look, 
not as if it had been constructed 
in the ordinary sense of the term, 
but as if it had 
grown there, out of 
the special needs 
of the plants and 
of those expect- 
ing to enjoy them. 
Please note that 
we make most 
prominent the 
necessities of the 
plant. They must 
receive first atten- 
tion, when the 
best effects will follow in due course. Landscape archi- 
tects are, perhaps, liable to fall into the habit of regard- 
ing plants as they would bricks or stones. An edifice 
of landscape architecture cannot be erected exactly as one 




^ -^^^-m. 



A STUDY FOR LAWN-PLANTING. 



268 LA WN-PLANTING 



cliooses. Plants have their freaks aud peculiarities in 
different positions, which even })ractical experience can 
scarcely foresee. 

Beware of using on small places large-growing trees, and 
even on the outer boundary employ them sparsely. All 
such trees, like the Norway spruce or white pine, become 
in a few years, independent of their crowding mass, more or 
less unsightly for limited inclosures and necessarily close 
inspection. There should be an exact proportion between 
the size of a place and the eventual size — say in ten years — 
of all plants used for ornamenting it. For this reason, the 
rapid-growing, deciduous shrubs, with their wonderful 
variety of foliage and flowers and theii" moderate grov/th, 
are well adapted for small places. They not only attain 
moderate size, but can be duly restrained for many j^ears 
by pruning. There are, also, many beautiful dwarf ever- 
green trees and shrubs well suited for lawn-planting on a 
small scale. Indeed, such plants may be kept, by pruning 
both root and branches intelligently, within a height of 
five feet for near a score of years. 

It seems almost absurd to say that ornamental plants in 
their entire variety and special aptitudes for lawn-planting 
should be carefully studied bj^ the lawn-planter. Never- 
theless, many so-called experts seem to lose sight of the 
fact. AVitli knowledge, however, and a cultivated taste, 
most delightful residts can be ol)tained on a small lot 
by an outlay i-anging from one hundred dollars to three 
hundred dolhirs, depending on the amount of choice plants 
used. Gi'ading and fences are considerations governed 
by special conditions, and cannot, therefore, be taken into 



FOR SMALL PLACES. 269 

a general and t3q)ical estimate. This liardly seems an 
extra\^agaut sum to devote to the exterior adornment of 
a Lome that lias probably cost at least $4,000 for tlie 
building, and $2,000 more for a simple and tasteful fur- 
nishing. The general impression is widely spread abroad 
that the accomplishment of artistic effects in lawn-planting 
on small places, if possible at all, must be expensive and 
elaborate. Perhaps the idea comes fi-om the fact that our 
parks and grand show places aiford almost the only in- 
stances of artistic lawn-planting, and they, of course, are 
expensive. The lawn-planting efforts, moreover, of the 
jobbing gardener or owner of the place, are generally crude 
and based on no settled principles of art. It is this, per- 
haps, that gains credence for the belief that landscape 
gardening, as a picturesque art, is not only expensive, but 
does not suit small places. People may not state such 
ideas definitely to themselves ; but they clearly demon- 
strate, by practice, a conscious or unconscious belief in 
their truth. 

It has been, therefore, our desire to enunciate a few 
simple and important considerations of an art too much 
neglected, and to exemplify them practically from a plan 
intended for execution in a simple and inexpensive manner. 
There are necessarily many features and details, not here 
treated, that may be introduced on small places ^vith much 
effect and without transgressing any fundamental rules of 
lawn-planting. We desire, however, to utter, before con- 
cluding, yet another warning against attempting too much 
when once we assume the artistic standpoint. Care for the 
proper exhibition and health of the plants themselves must 



270 LA WN-PLANTING. 



be, after all, the prime consideration, in pursuance of which 
we cannot go far astray. 

As I have ali'eady intimated, the rural adornment of 
the exterior of homes may rightfully demand and is 2'eceiv- 
ing increased attention. It is improvement of taste in the 
same line, as that encouraged for the decoration of interiors, 
in that they both foi'm important elements of home life. 
Unfortunately, many people have a way of regarding such 
work as requiring greater skill than is actually the case. 
It is really less difficult and expensive in proportion to the 
results obtained than most othei' forms of home art. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

CITY PARKS. 




O ^vrite of parks is to enter a field 
whicTi is almost iiulimited in ex- 
tent. It has come now to the 
pass that every town and city of 
importance in Europe and America 
must have its park. It is the 
fashion. Whether the fashion is 
always ^vell wrought out, is another 
thing. Unenlightened town authorities cannot always be 
depended on to employ competent talent, and to adopt a 
wise and comprehensive scheme of operations. 

Yet, after all, parks are but larger door-yards or lawns, 
— or rather, in many cases, a series of them. The landscape- 
gardening lore applied to them is essentially the same as 
that employed in constructing the most modest home 
grounds. There is nothing really different in the general 
theory of the landscape gardening of parks from that of 
ordinary grounds. The apparent difference simply lies in the 
special application to some particular individual undertaking. 

271 



272 CITY PARKS. 



Ill actual practice, one 2>ark must, of course, be treated 
differently from other parks ; hut tlie lessons acquired by 
considering one piece of work of this kind, must always be 
hel^^ful in carrying on other park-work. 

Ill order, therefore, not to weary the reader with the 
enunciation of abstract principles, and detailing instructions 
that do not always really instruct, I am going to ask atten- 
tion for a few moments to what I consider the best well 
advanced example of this kind of landscape gardening in 
America, namely, Central Park, New York City. 

In considering Central Park, I beg leave to first intro- 
duce a few lines from the pen of Mr. Calvert Vaux, one of 
the originators of the essential artistic effect of the park. 

" The principal defect of the ground originally appro- 
priated to Central Park was that it offered very few com- 
paratively level tracts of sufficient area to make a definite 
meadow-like impression on the eye. The ground is, for the 
most part, broken, undulating, picturesque, and rocky ; and 
this is, confessedly, a desirable quality for a park site to 
possess, because it is a comparatively rare one. Most of the 
large parks — such as Hyde Park in London, the Bois de 
Boulogne in Paris, and the Phcenix Park in Dublin — are 
manifestly lacking in variety of natural surface ; and every 
effort that art can make has to be resorted to for the pur- 
pose of relieving at intervals the genei*al monotony of 
ground-line, which, in these parks, is the normal condition 
of things. Under such circumstances, it is evident that 
mucli can be done by planting trees of high and low growth, 
in such relation to each other that the sky-line will be 
agreeably diversified, ^\dlile the level of the soil is but 



CITY PARKS. 273 



slightly varied. Nature works on so large a scale that it is 
rarely practicable to construct artificial eminences of suffi- 
cient magnitude to be really impressive. It has Vjeen done 
at the Pare du Chaumont, in Paris, quite effectively; but 
this is a rare example. 

" It may be i-eniarked, in this connection, that the sense 
of cpiiet re[)ose ministered to l)y a large lawn surface is not 
satisfied by picturesque ground, hoAvever vigorously it may 
be planted ; and, as the need for quiet repose in this work- 
a-day world is more constant than the need for vigorous 
stimulus, a lack of pastoral, meadow-like stretches of lawn 
in any large public park will always be felt by tlie habitual 
visitor to be a serious disadvantage." 

Originally, a place for a large park was chosen along 
the East River, on the site of Avhat was known as Jones 
Wood. This was not thought to be central enough, and, in 
cunse(pience, Central Park was located within its present 
boundaries, ^vith the exception that, for many years, its 
extent to the north only reached tlie neighborhood of 106th 
Street. 

In 1857, the work of constructing Central Park was 
fairly undertaken, with Mr. Andrew H. Green the virtual 
head of the commission of eleven members appointed by 
the State, and not as a part of the Tweed charter of the 
city. 

A topographical survey of the entire territory was first 
made, and then competitive plans, about thirty in number, 
were secured. The successful competitors were Messrs. 
Olmsted <fe Vaux. From that time until the present, the 
work of construction went steadily on, with some few ex- 

i8 



274 CITY PARKS. 



ceptioiis, along tlie lines laid down in the original [)lans, 
nearly all being executed during the first twelve years. 

Messrs, Olmsted <fe Vaux together, or either one alone, 
supervised this work, for the most part ; and the confidence 
of the municipality having been won by Mr. Green, he was 
enabled for nearly thirteen consecutive years to successfully 
manaire the finances and administration of this vast and 
complex civic enterprise. I feel, therefore, that it may be 
said with truth that Central Park could hardly have been 
built as it is to-day without the devoted interest, high ad- 
ministrative ability and ai'tistic discernment displayed l)y 
the Hon. Andre^v H. Green, at all stages of its develop- 
ment. 

In order to secure some general idea of the treatment 
of Central Park, we will consider foi- a few moments its 
arrangement as it ajDpears on the map. It is an awkward 
territory to treat, narrow and long, with about one hundred 
and fifty acres of Croton lieservoir occupying nearly the 
entire centre, from 85tli to OTtli Street. The clearly defined 
motive of the park is to secure a pleasant secluded country 
strolling ground directly in the heart of New York City. 
Pei'haps the most diflicult part of the park to design was the 
road system. It was, as all roads and w^alks are, a necessary 
featui'e, that would not in any case add to the beauty of the 
park. But opportunity for viewing the park must be secured, 
and so roads and walks were laid out on such lines as would 
exhibit the park l)est and mar it the least. 

The main entrance, at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, 
with its great after addition of the Plaza, was made at the 
corner of the park, extending in at an angle. This is always 



276 CITY PARKS. 



an eii'ective way to enter a park. It makes the region 
seem larger and more varied in effect. 

About half a mile along this drive, sixty feet wide, we come 
to the most important semi-artificial effect of Central Park, 
the Mall, It is a formal planted open-air cathedral of elms, 
showing long vistas of natural Gothic arches, with a wide 
walk in the centre and grass alleys on either side. The 
semi-artificial effect is i-elieved by irregular masses of trees 
planted all around the '' cathedral of trees," thus shading 
oft' and merging the formal effect into the picturesque and 
natural one peculiar to the remainder of the park. The 
Mall is the most frequented part of the park. Beneath its 
noble arches people linger to enjoy the cool of morning or 
evening, or gather on bright afternoons in thousands to 
enjoy the music of a band occupying a stand near the north 
end. The Mall is about a quarter of a mile long, and at the 
extreme north end the cathedral of trees culminates in 
the Terrace, which is the most elaborate and manifestly 
architectural effect in the park. 

A broad drive passes across the north end of the Mall, 
and alono; its entire width extends a broad hio;h Nova Scotia 
sandstone balustrade, elaborately decorated with carved 
fruits, animals, and birds. Broad stone steps lead nnder 
this drive from the Mall itself ; and from the north side of 
the drive two other sets of steps, bordered with carved 
balustrades ilhistrating the seasons, go down to a great 
Plaza, ornamented by the Bethesda Fountain, Beyond is 
the Lake, and still beyond, the woods of the Ramble that 
look illimitable. The view on an autumn day from the 
drive across the Plaza and fountain and across the Lake to 



CITY PARKS. 277 



the Ramble, where tlie woods are flushed with crimson and 
gold, is something to l^e treasured in the memory above all 
other scenes of the park. 

To the east of the Mall, across the East Drive, is 
the Children's and Nurses' Lawn, extending from 72d 
Street, along Fifth Avenue to the gate at (37th Street. 
This place reminds one of an English lawn. It is 
a bit of five or six acres of fine turf, unbroken except 
by a few scattered shade trees of large size. Each tree is a 
fine specimen. There are horse-chestnuts and some excellent 
American ])eeches, oaks, tulip-trees, maples, elms, purple 
beeches, liquidambars, etc. 

Under these trees and over the greensward play through- 
out the months of May and June, and occasionally later, 
hundreds of children both rich and poor. On a Saturday 
afternoon in May you Avill see scores of May-parties and 
hundreds of children covering every part of this lawn. The 
bright ribbons, the white dresses, and the greensward and 
trees, and above all, the happy faces, make a picture to 
gladden the heart of man. The atti'action of the picture is 
increased when we consider that many of these children 
come from the 2;reat tenement-houses of the east side of 
town, and fr<^m some of the most crowded regions of the 
civilized world. 

To the west of the Mall is another great lawn or meadow 
called the Green. Here base-ball is played on clear days, 
when the grass is dry, and under the shade of the bordering 
trees gather picnics. This meadow has no tree or shrub on 
its surface except on its extreme borders. It extends over 
to the West Drive, and is coiitrived, in connection with 



278 CITY PARKS. 



1 



shrubbery and trees, as a western backgi'ound, so as to give 
the idea of a Larger area than really exists. There are only 
four open grass spaces or meadows of any size in Central 
Park; and as the main repose and highest enjoyment of the 
park reside chiefly in these spots, let the public beware of 
the intrusion of all glittering, discordant shows, military 
bodies, ^v<)rk^s fairs, menageries, or race-courses. It is the 
poor who enjoy these places above all people — it is the 
children of the poor, and the mothers. We must not, there- 
fore, spoil their hei'itage. The [)eople should always 
treasure these open grass spaces of their parks. They are 
invaluable. 

The Lower Meadow, near Seventh Avenue and 59th 
Street, is specially attractive. It has a great i-ock jutting 
out in it, and to the north at a higher level extends 
the seemingly large expanse of green. Round about run 
footpaths, bridle-paths, and drives, and at one corner of it 
is the children's play-ground, consisting of a great merry-go- 
round and the Kinderberg summer-house, (me hundred feet 
in diameter. 

On fine days in May and June this charming meadow is 
literall}^ covered with playing children, thus fulfilling the 
most ini[)ortant functions of a pai'k in a densely crowded 
city. Beyond these two meadows is the West Drive, 
sixty feet in width. In the neighborhood of 72d Street 
it passes on one side the Mineral Springs, ])acked by 
picturesque vine-covered i-ocks, and on the other by a lawn 
planted with fine shade trees — beeches, maples, elms, and, 
above all, several large specimens of Chinese magnolias 
( M(uj)i()l'ui conapictKt ). 



280 CITY PARKS, 



Then the road strikes the Lake, looking on one side into 
a pool of rock-bordered water, with a spanning stone bridge 
at 77th Street ; on the other side, over a broad view 
of lovely lake surface. This view is bordered with the 
sweeping branches of the wooded shores of the Ramble, and 
emphasized in the distance by a sandy beach and a point of 
foliage crowned by two great Lombardy poplars. There is 
a stone seat on the bridge close to 77th Street, where 
one can look over the shining surface of the Lake to 
the distant Lombardy poplars and possibly conclude that 
this is the most charming ])it of landscape in the park. 

At this point, however, the visitor is tempted away 
from the Drive into the Ramble, which must be considered 
as an episode needing special description. This quaint bit 
of wild- wood is chiefly made ground, and yet not in the 
least artificial-looking, for it is contrived (piite simply out 
of the original simple and natural conditions, intricate as 
its paths and undulations may appear. It is identical in 
scale with what might readily be an ordinary country-place 
with the Belvidere as the mansion. 

In front of the mansion is a fine central grass plat, 
and beyond ^vind paths u[) and down and across a stream, 
along the lake shore, or over great masses of rock down 
into a veritable gloomy cave. There are fine weeping 
beeches, azaleas, I'hododendrons and plenty of perennial 
l^lants and shrubs blooming throughout the season. It is, 
in a ^vord, a picturesque wild-wood nook, Avhere one is hid- 
den from and entirely forgets the city. An experiment like 
this might be hazardous, if tlie boundaries of the Ramble 
were not clearl}' defined by nature, because it does not 



I 



282 CITY PARKS. 



produce the ample, ()[)eii-aii' lawn effect with reasonable 
shade, that should ])e the initial recpiirement in any city 
park. 

Passing up the West Di'ive between two small hollovy 
lawns ornamented Avith some hue specimens of evergreen, 
PimiH exceha (Bhotan pine), and stone pines and hemlocks 
near 82d Street and Eighth Avenue, a loop drive leads u^) 
to a small plateau called The Concourse, where the eye 
wanders over miles of city houses, out to the Hudson in 
the distance. Here ai'e many specimen evergreens of con- 
siderable excellence, creeping junipers, retinosporas, stone 
pines ( Pin lis ronhra), white pines in groves, silver firs of 
several excellent species and varieties. Oriental spruces, Atlas 
cedai's, nnigho pines, and some fine specimens of the evergreen 
thorn ( Cotoneaster in- (^/'afm/us 2)l/''(f^"a^'tJiaJ , with itsshiuing 
siuall leaves and orange-i"ed berries in autunui. 

Beyond this portion of the park, towards the 85th 
Street transverse road, are two or three other small la\vns 
on either side of the Drive. Throughout these lawns, since 
we left 72d Street, ^vill be noticed alouij: the West Drive as 
far as 110th Street ouantities of evero:i'eens. The West 
Drive w^as originally arranged for a wintei* as well as a 
summer I'esort, and is altogether the most attractive side of 
the park. Fashion has decreed, however, that the grand 
parade of carriages must go u[) and down the east side of 
the park. 

Having reached the 85th Street transvei'se road, I will 
sto]) a moment and explain these peculiar features of the 
pai-k. They are sunken roads extending from Fifth to 
Eiixhth .\ venue, and there are four of them. — viz., at 65th, 




i 



284 CITY PARKS. 



79tli, 85tli and J)7tli streets. Coui[>letely screened with 
trees and slirubs aud seven-feet walls, spanned witli fre- 
(juent l)ridges, tliese driveways afford abundant convenience 
foi' traffic aci'oss the park. 

On the 85th Street transverse road are situated the 
stables and workshops of the Depai'tnient, completely hid- 
den away. Here also is the entrance to the two great Cro- 
ton reservoirs. They occupy one hundred and fifty-four 
acres of the heart of Central Park. 

There is little of interest comparatively to l)e found in 
the park along the i-eservoirs. The}' block up and absorb 
almost the entire paik for the distance they extend, AVhen 
we reach, however, the north end of the park, clear of the 
reservoir, ^ve come upon more charming meadow views. 

The first is a unlade of a few acres seen beneath the 
branches of noble pin-oaks, just l)efore we I'each the 97th 
Street transverse road. Here lawn-tennis is played, and 
the disposition of the trees is such that one can hardly 
believe it other than a genuine \voodland nook. The scene 
is a thoroughly natural one, and far moi-e park-like than 
anything in the Ramble. 

Crossing over the 97th Street transverse road, and leav- 
ing with regret the grove of pin-oaks and the forest glade, 
we come to the great North Meadow of the park. It is a 
wonderful effect. Only nineteen acres, and appai'ently ex- 
tendinij; miles. The illustration o-ives a fair idea of it, but 
only as a picture can. The sheen of the grass, the varied 
tints of the foliage sweeping the turf to the left, the low-lying 
hillocks ci'owned Avitli large forest ti'ees, the great boulders 
entirely exposed or only half submerged, the meadow be- 



286 CITY PARKS. 



youd runniiig l)at'k to seemingly uukuowii distances, — who 
will picture it truly ? There is dignity, there is breadth, 
repose, i-estfulness, and yet a sense of isolation that is not 
absolute. It is genuine park scenery that the eye is 
tempted to linger on and the foot to walk on, and presents, 
if viewed as a single feature, one of the best examples we 
have of good park-work. 

In May the bright costumes of numerous tennis })layers 
enliven its surface and attract many interested spectators. 
But to me it is more attractive when it lies in unbroken 
rest in the shimmering atmosphere of an autumn day with 
the red and gold of tlie maples and hickories framing and 
brightening its greensward. 

Leavins: the lara:e su2::2:estion of l)readth and distance of 
^he North Meadow, we pass up the West Drive to the 
Highlands of the park. As we cross the bridge spanning 
the stream which flows out of the pool of water near Eighth 
Avenue and 100th Street, called the Loch, we look in au- 
tunm on a sj^lendid hillside of l)lood-red sumach, and turn- 
ing the other ^vay we see a rock-l)ordered stream winding 
along a forest-covered hillside. It is all charmingly wild 
and picturescpie. When we reach the top of the great hill 
crowned with native trees we tui'ii up a \\ide drive to the 
Circle a small open space of road, greensward, and digni- 
fied elms. 

Turning back on our tracks and, after reaching tlie West 
Drive, passing down a steep winding way, we come to one 
of the finest single features of tlie park, a great overhanging 
rock. It is a pictures(pie object which is yet so natural- 
looking that it seems to have existed there always. On a 




287 



A GORGE IN CENTRAL PARK. 



288 CJTY PARKS. 



liot, dry Jay the gloom beiieatli it is literally "the shadow 
of a mighty rock in a thirsty land." 

Near 110th Street we pass on the woody heights a great 
gorge filled with rhododendrons with a lily-pool at its base 
which produces a most natural and picturesque effect. 

Opposite the entrance from Sixth Avenue we come to the 
Harlem Meer, a fine sheet of water of some tw^elve acres. 
Here there are sand}^, pel)bly shores and plenty of steep, 
rocky slopes coming down from the earthworks of old Fort 
Fish. Alone: the western shore of this lake at a some- 
what higher level our drive now passes. AVe have come to 
the fashionable East Drive again, and opposite the entrance 
at Sixth Avenue and 110th Street most of the carriages turn. 

The I'oad winds at first picturesquely across a rock 
bridge over the stream that flows between the Pool and 
the Harlem Meer, and above this bridge appears a consider- 
able ^vaterfall. The walk along the stream above and south 
of the Vv^-iterfall can be seen from the bridge to be pictu- 
resque and attractive Avith its wooded hillsides and on the 
east a grassy la^vn sloping do^vn to its eastern boi'der. Hav- 
ing reached the top of the hill we come to the site of the 
old Mount Saint Vincent Convent, afterwards a restaurant, 
and finally burnt down and I'eplaced l)y the present build- 
ing. A little beyond this spot we come t(^ the great North 
Meadow again and catch nearly as fine a view of its bright 
openness as we did from the West Drive. There is really 
little of interest no\r on the East Drive until we pass the 
reservoir and cimie to the east side of the Ramljle. 

The birches, evergreens, and vines on the rocky banks 
are fine at this point and tliei'e is a small deep dell to the 



CITY PARKS. 289 



east of the drive adjoining the 79th Street transverse road 
that is worth stopping to look at. Its sides are planted 
with beeches, oaks, elms, and maples, and at the bottom the 
grass seems to grow with peculiar I'ichness and vigor. 

As we come down the hill past the branch road leading 
out to 79th Street we look over to Fifth Avenue across a 
hollow or bowl extending from 79th to 7 2d Street. The 
sloping sides of this region, intended for a conservatory, 
enclosing as a central feature a small sheet of water with a 
lily-pond to the north, close by, make an attractive picture. 
These slopes are further adorned with fine specimens of firs, 
spruces, beeches, elms, and maples, and also with large 
groups of deciduous shrubs planted on the slope adjoining 
Fifth Avenue. There is a noteworthy mass of Ilosa rugosa 
and among the shrubs are many Japanese snowballs, hy- 
drangeas, Hhodotypus herrioides, Spircva Thiinbergii^ etc. 
The common shrubs are numerously represented by Spirwa 
opulifoUas^ red-twigged dogwoods, weigelias, standard honey- 
suckles, and philadelphuses. 

The lily-pond is of irregular form, bordered with rocks 
and planted at intervals with lotuses, water-lilies, Cyperus 
papyrus, and the quaint and charming floating pontederia. 

Thus we have made the round of the park and come to 
the Casino Restaurant, which is worth visiting in early 
or late May of all seasons, for the sake of the wonderful 
wistaria effect crowning the Pergola, a summer shelter 
overlooking the Mall at this point. The purple clusters 
of flowers lie in piles among the tossing tendrils and leaves 
until against the blue sky beyond the effect is that of a 
purple and green cloud resting on the arbor. 



290 CITY PARKS. 



Before concluding this brief itinerary of tlie park, 
however, 1 must take the reader on horseback, as it were, 
to two or three bits of charming scenery on the bridle- 
paths, which can be seen nowhere else as well. The first 
is on a curve around the southwest side of the lower 
green near Seventh Avenue and 59th Street. There is a great 
rock here, and an ever widening meadow, with a distant 
view over another meadow and plenty of trees and 
shrubs round about. The sweet influences of spring at 
this point are not to be surpassed anywhere else in the 
park. 

Another chai'mingly secluded spot may be found by 
passing up the bridle-path to the stone bridge at 77th 
Street and Eighth Avenue to a pool of water with a 
loop road leading to the water's brink and a great sheer 
rock on the opposite shore. The shrubs on the bank at 
this point are attractive, in both spring and autumn, includ- 
ing spireas, dogwoods, Lonicera fragrantissima^ weigelias, 
privets, and masses of honeysuckles over the small rocks on 
the edge of the water, and Ampelopsis tricuspidata and Vir- 
ginia creepers on the stone bridge and sheer rock. I would 
advise the reader to mount a horse and ride through the 
park, if only for the op^^ortunity of sauntering down this 
loop bridle-path at 77th Street and Eighth Avenue. 

There are, besides, choice bits of landscape along the 
bridle-paths between 81st Street and 86th Street and up 
by 97th Street among the pin-oaks. But in no other way 
can the great North Meadow be seen so well as on horse- 
back from the bridle-path that runs round its entire extent. 
On the east side the bridle-path is completely embowered 



CITY PARKS. 291 



with ti'ees, aud from these you look out with peculiar en- 
joyment over the expanse of the North Meadow. 

There are five and one half miles of bridle-paths, and 
nine miles of drives, and thirty miles of foot-paths in 
Central Park. Altogether, there are eight hundred and 
fifty acres in Central Park, including the one hundred and 
fifty acres of reservoir. 

It might doubtless be interesting to speak of many 
other individual features of marked interest in Central 
Park. I do not, however, think it expedient in such a 
general description and illustration of general principles as 
this to be drawn into such emphasis of details. Indeed, 
the manifest superiority of the design as a whole is its gen- 
eral adequacy to the effect sought, which was simple park 
scenery in the midst of a city. 

This seems a proper place to remark that another great 
attraction possessed by Central Park is the essential unity 
of its design. Here is a park laid out on paper according to 
definite artistic conceptions and then executed substantially 
as conceived in the beginning. 

Before closing my I'emarks on Central Park I desire to 
direct especial attention to the popular-amusement feature 
insisted upon in its arrangement. The chief and most 
important ofiice of Central Park is not to furnish agreeable 
driving territory for the heau monde, the millionaires, and 
the lovei's of horseflesh. It is not a scheme to please and 
attract the fashionable, but it is a playground for the 
young people, a pleasant open-air breathing space for the 
mothers and fathers who desii-e to go into the country and 
cannot get there. 



292 CITY PARKS. 



As a part of this scheme for the pleasure and well- 
being of the multitude there is music on the Mall twice a 
week, goat-carriages, donkeys, merry-go-rounds, summer- 
houses, grounds for croquet, lawn-tennis, base-ball, foot-ball, 
and lacrosse, and, above all, grounds everywhere for picnics 
in spring and early summer. Last year there were picnic 
permits issued to over seventy-five thousand children, whose 
wants were ministered to by park employes without charge. 

In order to secui'e the greatest amount of pleasure from 
these games, the turf requires special and solicitous atten- 
tion. It must be mown frequently, and manured yearly ; 
and above all it must not be used when soft fi'om rain, and 
liable to be torn up by the feet of visitors. 

Before closing this chapter on city parks, I must say a 
few Avords about small city squares or greens. They are 
generally not large enough to consist of more than a few 
S(piare yards or half a dozen acres. Usually they come on 
some irregularly shaped space situated at the Junction of 
two or more streets. Properly they should be termed 
" Greens," like the Bowling Green, at the foot of Broadway, 
New York City. The green effect of the grass should be 
made the chief and most important feature of their 
treatment. 

Some fence of a simple and inconspicuous character 
should surround the plot, and this fence should be masked 
and ornamented with shrubs and trees, but the interior 
should be simple open greensward, with a few bright bits 
of bedding, and trees enough for shade along the paths. 
The semi-artificial lines and masses of formal bedding are 
out of place in the strictly rural scenery of Central Park, 



CITY PARKS. 293 



but ill the city parks they look well amid the architectural 
lines of the surrounding buildings. 

Every small city park should have a widening of the 
pathway towards the centre, and if possible an open plaza 
where the children may play and the visitor linger. 
Architectural adornments may properly be employed in 
small parks, so long as they do not seriously interfere with 
the open grass effect. There may be even busts or statues, 
but especially suitable are drinking fountains, and fountain 
basins, with great sprays of water. 

The fountain basins may be effectively ornamented with 
lotuses, water-lilies, and other decorative water-plants. 
All such adornment of small city squares or greens tends 
to appropriately enliven and enrich the general appearance 
of a crowded city, where the effect of everything is arti- 
ficial, and more or less formal or tedious. 

I should warn those who propose to plant these small 
city squares, that the surrounding conditions are not primar- 
ily favorable for the growth of plants. The air is apt to 
be hot, dry, and dust-laden, if not actually impure. Conse^ 
quently the soil should be thoroughly enriched, and the 
most vigorous and hardy trees and shrubs employed. Ever- 
greens seldom do well in large, crowded cities. It is better 
to plant certain hardy, deciduous trees and shrubs, such as 
the privet, weigelia, snowball, Spirma opidifolia, American 
thorn ( Oratcegus Crxis-galli ) ^ philadelphus, American elm, 
honey-locust, American linden, Norway and sugar maples, 
and the Oriental plane trees. 

The care of these small city squares is often difficult on 
account of the crowds that congregate or pass through, and 



294 CITY PARKS. 



on account of the lieat and dust, l)ut it can l)e done by con- 
tinual watering, cleaning, and cultivating. Canal Street 
Park, New York, is situated in perhaps the most difficult 
position in the city of which it is possible to conceive. 
The surrounding houses are tenements, produce stores, and 
the like, and the incessant traffic consists largely of trucks 
and carts, laden with coal, refuse, vegetables, and the 
roughest material. Dirt is ubiquitous, and the heat at 
times is great. And yet the grass is always green here, 
and the shrubs, trees, and bedding plants, always thriving. 
The park is only 195 feet long by 69 feet wide, but it 
occupies the entire attention of one gardener, and two police 
officers, either one of whom is on guard at night and during 
the day. 

It is a pleasure to see the mothers with their children 
gather here on the settees throughout the long sultry sum- 
mer nights, and realize that this imspeakable boon can be 
secured at such comparatively low cost. Every city should 
seek to adoi'n these small greens, to increase their number, 
and to enlarge their boundaries. 








CHAPTER XV. 



RAILWAY, CHURCHYARD, AND CEMETERY 
LAWN-PLANTING. 

A RAILWAY LAWN. 



m encouraging sign of tbe times is 
tlie interest wliicTi has been mani- 
fested of late by our railroad 
officials in the appearance of the 
stations on theii' lines. Many of 
these l)uildings and surroundings, 
^v^hich were formerly eyesores, have 
been so beautified by the judicious 
expenditure of some thought and a little money, that they 
now lend an added charm to the landscape ; and were 
they to be removed, they would be missed with regret. 

I had occasion lately to visit one of these recently im- 
proved stations. The natural surface of the ground rose 
rapidly in the rear of the building, and along the edge of 
the great rock mass, cut through just here by the railroad, 
gurgled a small, tumbling rill across the road, under a board 
or two. Except just about the station, where everything 

295 




296 A RAIL WA Y LA WN. 

had been thoroughl}' cleared away, bits of rock abounded, 
and these had been utilized in a picturesque manner. Im- 
mediately around the station ran a carriage I'oad, with a 
convenient oval circuit for turning. On one end of this 
circuit, near the station, was a w^eeping beech, and the other 
extremity was occupied by a group of flow^ering shrubs, 
that, although too freshly planted to blossom that year, al- 
ready impressed the eye as an attractive mass of bright 
green foliage. Here and there, near the house, were 
planted pleasant shade-trees, such as the linden, oak, and 
maple. It should be remembered that by thus planting 
large shade-trees, the architectural effect of the building 
was greatly enhanced, because the side toward the railroad, 
which is the true front, was uninterfered with. Passing 
mention is made of this, because objection might otherwise 
be fairly raised to shutting in the building with trees. The 
entire work had been completed rapidly, but with evident 
thoroughness. Rich, well-tilled soil had been secured, and 
the paths were solid and properly constructed. All the 
edges of the walks were bordered l^y cut sods, and the re- 
maining ground was sown with grass seed that, by the 
good luck that sometimes accompanies good management, 
had come up evenly. A single path w^ound through the 
small domain, carried hither and thither so as to obtain the 
best views of the river near by, as well as the utmost vari- 
ety of surface. It was surprising how large the place 
seemed, as one rambled over this undulating path. The 
matter-of-fact visitor was even betrayed into the expression 
that it was as good in its way as anything in Central 
Park. 



t 



I 



A RAIL WA Y LA WN. 297 

There was little bedding stuff that required to be con- 
stantly renewed ; only a few V)it8 of color in the way of 
scarlet geraniums and the like, planted as a salient point in 
some shrub group. Almost everything was simple and 
2)ermaneut in character. Hardy flowering shrubs were freely 
used, because some one of them bloomed during every 
month of spring and summer. There were small-sized trees, 
like the purple beech, stuartia, and magnolia. A few 
groups and single specimens of evergreens stood in a sec- 
tion near the rockiest part of the grounds and somewhat 
by themselves. These consisted almost entirely of dwarf, 
slow-growing kinds, such as the mugho pine, stone pine, 
creeping juniper, and some of the beautiful I'etinosporas. 
Peering out from the rocks and background of woods and 
shrubbery that surrounded the spot, were white-barked 
weeping birches, golden oaks, and other trees of equally 
individual character. A rhododendron or two bloomed also 
among the nearest rocks, as well as several hardy azaleas. 
Along the little run of \v^ater were set out various herba- 
ceous plants that flower freely and brightly in the green turf 
nearly all summer, and come up again next year without being 
renewed. Over the rocks grew climbing vines, Virginia 
creepers, moneywort, and periwinkles, as well as sedums, 
and many other varieties of herbaceous plants fitted for 
such spots. A little of everything that propeidy pertained 
to a lawn was here, for \\ariety had been one of the main 
objects sought, in order that the tedium of the waiting pas- 
senger might be alleviated as much as possible. 

I cannot properly explain how charmingly the combina- 
tions were contrived to thus produce, \)\ a complete variety, 



298 THE CHUR CHYA RD. 

the most continued pleasure and surprise. Uninitiated as 
tliey were, tlie railroad men at once recognized the attrac- 
tions of this variety, even in its crude and freshly planted 
state, and grimly, after the way of such men, expressed 
approval. 

I asked the station-master how all this had been done, 
and how it was to be kept in order. He said that a close 
survey of the ground and existing plants was made last 
fall. During the winter, maps and planting lists were 
worked up ; and in the spring, a lawn-planting foreman 
came on the ground, with half a dozen men, and with the 
help of the map, and one or two visits of the landscape 
architect, they accomplished the result. 

As to keeping it in order, the work is easily done, he 
said, by men who are sent from the company's office, at 
stated times, to mow grass, and to weed and prune. All 
the station-mastei' is asked to do is to watch that everything 
is kept in apple-pie shape, and if weeds and grass show 
signs of getting ahead, to telegraph for help. 

THE CHURCHYARD. 

Churchyards and cemeteries were once essentially 
identical. All this, however, is rapidly changing. For 
sanitary and other good reasons, the cemetery is now sepa- 
rated from the church ; but, unfortunatel}', with the growth 
of modern cemeteries is associated curtailment of church- 
yards. This is gi'eatly to be deplored. AVould it not be 
wiser to even moderate, if necessary the ornamentation of 
the interior, and secure trees and grass and flowers ? A 
few may be impressed with holy awe by sculptured nave 



THE CHURCHYARD. 



299 



and glowing window, but tlie whole world that passes by 
is benefited by trees and flowers. My object, therefore, is 
to see if I cannot help to increase the love and knowledge 
of lawn-planting, as applied to the grounds of buiklings for 
worship. In the belief that it is a reasonable and beautiful 
object, I will endeavor to point out how certain trees not 
only harmonize with such surroundings, but also how they 
possess special and practical value in the positions they 
occupy. The accompanying illustration shows what can be 
effected in a country cliurchyard. 




A CHURCH LAWN. 



Such trees as stand near the church are rightly dignified 
and statuesque. For the same reason, they generally stand 
singly or in small groups of three. The larger ones, like 
the American elm in the centre, or the ginkgo (Salhhuria 
adiantifolia ) to the right, have a more or less erect charac- 



1 



300 THE CHURCHYARD. 

ter. On tlie other liaiul, the yellow-wood ( Virgilia lutea), 
to the left of the last, has a broad head an'l curving outline 
of trunk and branches, suggestive of the high finish of the 
turner's art. Harmony and variety are specially sought in 
the design of this plot. Remarkable specimens of weeping 
sophora stand in one or two spots, and seem essentially 
adapted to the surroundings of a church. 

Noteworthy and valuable weeping trees are the elms on 
either side of the gate. They have been planted later than 
many other trees visible in the picture, and are of the cam- 
pestris species, Camperdown variety. Evidently British 
from their name, they bear little resemblance to our Ameri- 
can elms. Slow of growth and compact of form, at no time 
are they lofty and spreading. They belong evidently to 
the rounded type of foliage contour. The rich, dark green 
leaves droop and fold over each other in a regular manner, 
in many cases quite systematic. You will notice in the pic- 
ture, however, that these particular specimens have taken a 
fancy to lean toward each other in a manner that even trees 
will sometimes assume. Pruning secures for this tree a per- 
fect form, until it attains considerable age. In short, it may 
be ranked well up on our short roll of merit of really good 
weeping trees. The 'weeping sophora, of which there are 
two, is possibly more elegant in appearance, with drooping 
garlands of neat, acacia-like foliage. It is not, however, as 
hardy, either in summer or winter, as the Camperdown elm. 
I need hardly rehearse the excellence of the weeping 
sophora, having already treated of it elsewhere. Further- 
more, I want to call your attention again to the broad, 
round-headed yellow-wood ( Virgilia lutea, or, according to 



THE CHURCHYARD. 301 



best authorities, Oladrastis tinctot'ia). It is the most cheer- 
ful tree on the grouuds, aud, luoreovei', though I'are, au 
American plant from the banks of the Tennessee. The 
foliage is not dense, and does not clothe the interior branch- 
ing of the tree, which, in a way, lays open to view a pecul- 
iar development of trunk and limbs. About their rounded 
contour is stretched tightly wrinkled swathings of smooth, 
light-colored bark. Small and graceful, the leaves are light 
green, more or less like those of an acacia or sophora, and 
the flowers white and in form drooping, like those of the 
wistaria. The pyramidal oak, too, forms one of the best 
trees for a church lawn. Its upright lines are bold and 
picturesque, as relieved against the more horizontal ones of 
the church. The tree is, moreover, massive and, for an oak, 
very rapid in growing. 

In seeking to gather about the church trees that accord 
with the place, the lawn-planter, l)y employing the Virgilia 
lutea, has been most successful. The color shades off 
effectively, through the varying hues of ginkgo, weeping 
elm, pyramidal oak, and stately American elm, to the deep- 
est, noblest tone of all produced by the grand Nordmann's 
fii", near the right-hand corner of the church. Here a dark, 
noble mass, with rich, silvery tints, rears itself into a sym- 
metrical, perfect feature, which impresses the eye much as 
the ear is affected by some deep, solemn strain from the old 
organ within the church. This iir, indeed, serves, with its 
companion evergi-eens, to give the place its special char- 
acter. By good luck, hills and trees to the north and west 
have so protected this spot that evergreens of somewhat 
tender nature stand the winter well. Thus, we have the 



302 THE CHURCHYARD. 



Irish yew, rich and dark and erect as a sentinel, as well as 
its parent Taxus baccata, also dark, if not altogether statu- 
esque. Other evergreens bear, of course, their due relation 
to this harmony of color and form. Graceful, grotesque, 
weeping spruces, golden and fern-like Japanese cypresses 
or retinosporas, columnar weeping silver firs, and fountain- 
like weeping hemlocks, alike contribute each its separate 
mark on the broad effect of the whole. It is a symphony 
of trees as impressive in many ways as the swelling chords 
of the church organ. Nor does the velvet turf, extending 
in broad, unbroken spaces, fail to perfect the general ap- 
pearance of the scene. Statuesque dwarf evergreens, as 
well as more lofty trees, occupy the space immediately 
about the church walk, or fence, leaving wide openings be- 
tween. The fence, carrying out the same idea, is low, with 
but two rails, and as inconspicuous as possible. Care is 
taken also not to overload the lawn with choice, low-grow- 
ing, sombre evergreens, as represented by most of the yews, 
spi'uces, and firs. Just as the effect of the graver elms, 
oaks, and maples is lightened by the tints of the yellow- 
wood and ginkgo, so the evergreens pass here and there 
into bright golden forms, and again into low deciduous 
trees, which are not, in any sense, shrubs. Thus the glow- 
ing leaves of certain Japanese maples are used as single 
specimens, and especially the low-grafted form of the Kil- 
marnock weeping willow. This tree is very symmetrical 
and even graceful, if properly pruned; but, as usually 
known in its high-grafted form, its stem early decays. In 
the sketch accompanying the church illustration is shown 
the low-grafted form, which is comparatively free fi'om 



THE CEMETERY. 303 

bark-cracking on account of the protection the branches 
afford the stem. The effect of the employment of this 
weeping plant in the churchyard is specially happy, for 
it hardly represents a real shrub, which is, in this case, 
scarcely admitted, and yet it breaks, Mdth its irregular, 
graceful lines, any possible monotony among the statuesque 
dwarf evergreens. Of course, the ivy on the wall and the 
crimson autumnal tints of the Japan creeper ( A nipelopsis 
trictispidatct ) are here in all their glory. Altogether, there 
is an organic completeness in the selection of the various 
plants that proves the lawn-planter to have had a genuine 
sympathy for his work, as well as abundant practical 
knowledcje. 

THE CEMETERY. 

The excessive and tasteless use of stonework in our 
cemeteries has been unnaturally fostered by love of display 
and by the fact that cut stone is more permanent and needs 
less care than shrubs and flowers, which are not only diffi- 
cult to select to-day, but liable to perish to-morrow. Hence 
grew up the vulgar fashion of using stone inordinately, 
nominally in honor of the dead, but often merely for the 
sake of fashionable display. 

Plants, however, have long been employed, entirely in- 
dependent of what the fashion might be, and in their use, 
therefore, lies the really heart-felt offering to the memoiy 
of the departed. More than twenty years ago, one or two 
cemeteries, notably Spring Grove, Cincinnati ; and Laurel 
Hill, Philadelphia, attemj)ted a reform which aimed at 
doing away with fenced and hedged burial plots. Hartford 



304 THE CEMETERY. 

laid out a cemetery on a similar plan, and a portion of 
Woodlawn Cemetery, New York, has a park-like character, 
unblemished by fences or even tombstones. Cincinnati has 
certainly been the pioneer in this movement, and to Mr. 
Strauch, superintendent of Spring Grove Cemetery, of 
that city, belongs the credit of most persistently and sys- 
tematically following out what may really be called a new 
principle. 

In AYoodlawn Cemetery, New York, may l)e seen a fair 
example of what is generally considered a good park-like 
cemetery. Shrubs and trees are planted about in irregular 
fashion upon a lawn. The lots are clustered here and there 
in groups, and their boundaries are designated by small 
stones or stakes hidden in the grass, the graves themselves 
being made in an inconspicuous manner. With the exception 
of creeping vines, not a tree, shrub, or flower is planted 
unless by permission of the authorities. Flowers are allowed 
on the graves, but no plants bearing flowers may be set out 
except under these restrictions. Everything is under the 
control of a central authority, which is supposed to know 
exactly how to j^roduce the finest landscape effect possible 
under the circumstances. That such effects are actually 
accomplished maybe fairly questioned by competent judges ; 
but that is not the fault of the system. 

Many people, however, possess cemetery lots where 
stones exist, and they must make the best of things as they 
are. They may not wish to destroy existing evergreen 
hedges entirely, in which case they can leave a })laut in each 
corner and on either side of the gate, otherwise they will 
find it advisable to follow the plan here presented as regards 



THE CEMETERY, 



305 



its general system. Tliis system consists cliiefiy in open 
stretches of perfect greensward tlironghout tlie entire lot, 
except on the extreme edges and at tlie liead and foot of 
the graves. No formal hedge is necessar}', hut a l>order of 
foliage, to break and modify the stiffness of the necessarily 
stiffdooking fence. This work can only be accomplished 
properly by dwarf evergreens, the forms of which are 




A BURIAL PLOT. 



statuesque and dignified, as comports with the spirit of the 
place. I I'efer to such j^l^nts as the Swiss stone pine, the 
conical and Gregory spruces, and the many agreeable d^varf 
varieties of retinosporas. These plants have the supreme 
advantage of tlie most lovely variety and contrast of color, 
when properly arranged, and have at the same time the 
ability to retain their d^v^arf forms for a score of years with 



306 



THE CEMETERY. 



a minimum of pruning. Variety of color is too little con- 
sidered in most landscape gardening of a permanent char- 
acter, and tlie unfitting mature size of many plants in 
confined positions is equally disregarded. 

This lot, it will be seen, has a weeping beech on the 
border of the lot, and three or four slow-growing plants — 
roses and variegated-leaved Japanese maples — by the grave 
itself. This is designed to secure a peculiar grace for this 
special spot, which may be enhanced by allowing a vine or 
two, ivy or Japan ci'eeper, to twine about the base of grave- 
stone or monument. All plants used in the centre of the 
lot should be pruned and managed with the greatest care, 
or they will become, in spite of their dwarfness, too luxuriant 
in growth for the place they occupy. Above all things, 
the vines should not be allowed to cover all the surface of 
the stones and monuments. Any seeming neglect and 
disorder must detract greatly from the proper dignity of 
the spot. 










CHAPTER XVI. 

NOOKERIES ON THE HOME GROUNDS. 




OW shall we treat our garden or 
lawn nookeries ? to coin a phrase 
which means, I take it, an aggrega- 
tion or congeries of nooks and cor- 
ners combined into a sino;le isolated 
picture. On general principles 
nooks of the garden attain a value 
not only because in them, as Lord 
Bacon quaintly puts it, " when the wind blows sharp you 
may walk as in a gallery," but because these nooks afford 
the attraction of a surprise, that may be in the truest sense, 
when pro2:)erly taken advantage of, a pleasurable surpi'ise. 
In a word, there must be a succession of nooks, surprises in 
numbers, all within the limits of one small spot, to make 
your true nookery, for a bare corner is in no sense a nook- 
ery. Memory must surely recall to all of us suck spots 
down in the orchard or behind the barn, and in the edge of 
the woods at the back of the house. The old apple tree 
with the grape-vme trailing over it, down by the drinking- 



308 NOOKERIES ON THE HOME GROUNDS. 

hole for cattle in the corner of the orchard, was a deliarlit- 
fill nookery in its way, with its rich tnrf and charming 
wild flowers, or weeds as some would call them. Abound- 
ing, too, in uookeries of the pleasantest sort was the old 
flower garden, with its box-lined borders and larkspurs, and 
hollyhocks, where, for instance, in a far corner, we come sud- 
denly on an old arbor festooned with grape-vine, honey- 
suckle, and trumpet creeper. I think, though, according to 
my remembrance, the best nookery was to be found down 
on the edge of the grove, with its pool of water on one side 
and its bays of shrubby growth and aisles of tree trunks on 
tlie other. The rushes and lilies of those i-emote, still 
waters, and the wild flowers and climbing vines, Virginia 
creepers and bitter-sweets in the recesses of the woods, even 
now linger with me as tyj)es of ^vhat genuine nookei-ies 
should be. 

After recalling the constituent parts of such scenes, it 
ought not to be hard to adorn, and, if necessary, create 
these pleasant nookeries in our gardens. It is not a ques- 
tion of extensive or even exquisite culture, but only a few 
well-directed efforts fi'om year to year and the place takes 
care of itself. Every one surely can find a secluded nook 
in the garden or lawn, and there are many things we can 
do of the easiest nature that will tend greatly to perfect 
these delightful surprises. Wild flowers can be fostered 
and even planted in such a way as to preclude all idea 
whatever of the presence of the hand of man. Hardy 
shrubs, too, may be used in the most effective manner for 
this purpose, by planting them singly or in colonies in a 
thoroughly wild-wood manner. But, I believe, nothing 



NOOKERIES ON THE HOME GROUNDS. 809 



better tliaii tlie intelligent employment of climbers and 
creepers \vill ci'eate suck })leasant, artistic surpi'ises in these 
nooks, and illustrate the proper way to treat them. Witli 
them alone we can do ^vonders. Take that old stump be- 
foi'e you and wreathe it Avith festoons of the long, ci-imson 
flowers of the trumpet creeper^ — Tecorna radicans. Nothing 
in its way can be finer except the employment of 
Tecorna grandifiora, with its great orange-colored flowers. 
So vigoi'ous and stout are these climbers that they soon 
grow^ into a tossing, wild mass of leaves and trumpet-shaped 
flowers, to the entire obliteration from view of the old trunk 
over which they grow. Do not confuse, however, these trum- 
pet flowers with those of the scarlet trumpet-vine or honey- 
suckle — Lonieera semper vir ens — with the bright, glossy, 
green leaves that often last nearly all winter. Every one 
thinks of honeysuckle flowers as sweet-scented and yellow, 
white or red ; but how many stop to examine the rich, glos- 
sy shades of honeysuckle leaves, so admirably adapted for 
carpeting bare spots or draping heaps of stone and stumps 
and tree trunks ? There are many varieties of honeysuckles 
which are, every one of them, worthy of employment. 

In some of these sheltered nooks we might even use 
the unequalled English ivy, particularly if we use it as a 
carpet ; but ^ve certainly can have the so-called Japan ivy, 
Amfpelopsis Veitchii, or tricnspidata, in this country the most 
perfect of hardy creepers for clinging by rootlets to stone or 
wooden surfaces. Few plant effects can surpass in summer 
the glossy color and artistic forms of the leaves and tendrils 
of the Japan ivy, or the crimson and gold of its autumn 
tints. But we must not forget the other varieties of Arrvpe- 



310 NOOKERIES ON THE HOME GROUNDS. 

lopsls in contemplating the charms of the Japan ivy, for few 
things are more effective in our tangled wild-wood corners 
than great masses of the common Virginia creepers — A. 
quinquefoUa. How its piled-up leaves festoon the tree 
trunks with overlying masses of shining green in summer 
and of scarlet and blood-red in autumn every one familiar 
with fall effects must remember. Of an entirely different, 
but none the less very effective, nature is the Virginia silk 
— Periploca Grceca, — with long, pointed, shining leaves, 
small flowers, and brownish-red stems, reaching out with 
almost unrivalled speed of growth away up the stem of the 
tree. For the adornment of the upper part of the trees 
and rock masses we must not forget the rich clusters of foli- 
age and charming garlands of flowers of the purple and 
white wistarias. Wistarias, allowed to reach out, flower 
and leaf most abundantly in their upper parts, and are, 
therefore, specially adapted for garlandiug a tree or roof 
far up in the air without reference to covering its lower 
part. Then there is the neat-leaved akebia ; the bold and 
picturesque, large, light-colored leaved Dutchman's pipe; 
the autumn-crimsoned purple-berried bitter-sweet, all lovely 
climbers for our purpose. But of all charming climbers, I 
verily believe the clematis must bear the palm. The vari- 
ety of color and form of its flowers seems endless, extending 
as it does, from the noble, dark-purple Clematis Jackmani 
to the delicate, small, white and yellow flowers of C. jiarti- 
mula and O. apiifolia. And they are equally fine in the 
nookery, whether carpeting bare spaces of ground or gar- 
landing and draping rocks and trees. 

Before leaving a subject thus closely allied to the veiy 



NOOKERIES ON THE HOME GROUNDS. 311 

hea,rt of nature I would note again, with increased empha- 
sis, that one of the peculiarities of the proper treatment of 
these pleasant corners, whether in garden or woodland, is 
that it may be said, almost, that the more you plant and 
the less you cultivate and cut with the sickle, scythe, and 
pruning knife, the more surely you attain the end desired. 
Conventional methods are all out of place in the true garden 
or lawn nookery. Grasses, mosses, tree trunks, fantastic, 
" lovely climbers and wild flowers, weeds even, and manie 
a plant that the fastidious woulde cast forthe," tall, purple 
thistles and asters, and great docks and sorrels, all make up 
a picture in such nooks, that, irradiated, perchance, by the 
level beams of the setting sun, surpasses " beyond compare " 
any number of cart-loads of scentless bedding plants, 
mechanically arranged and ribbon-bordered. 



'*^'ii^ 



iV^v 











CHAPTER XVII. 

MY FRIEND THE ANDROMEDA. 



§ DO not know why it is, but the 
appearance of a tree fi'e(j[ueiitly pre- 
sents itself to my mind in a semi- 
personal, or I might almost say 
Iniiiian, way. This is fanciful, no 
(h)ul)t, l)ut only another instance of 
the facility with which the mind 
clothes simple objects of the senses Avith its own less simple 
drapery of the imagination. Association of ideas may, 
perhaps, account for it. When a ti'ee is graceful, slender, or 
drooping, we think inuuediately of womanly metaphors, 
like the poet's epithet of " Lady of the Woods," as applied 
to the birch ; and T fail to see any objection to such an 
innocent misconception. It not only pleavses without doing 
harm to any one, but it does more. Such an attitude of 
mind tends to develop a more sympathetic consideration and 
study of plants under varying conditions. Horses, dogs, and 
even some comparatively worthless human ])eings, gain and 
have gained, during all time, much of this sympathetic 

312 



MY FRIEND THE ANDROMEDA. 313 



I 



consideratloii. May we not, in its hum])l(' s[)li('re of life, 
plead a similar claim for tlie tree? Every mem})er of the 
lawn affords ns n more profonnd and lastini^ impression, 
viewed from tliis seemingly fancifnl standpoint of so-called 
personal s>iiipat]iy, than if we keep onrselves resolutely 
realistic in our feelings. I assure you, gentle I'eader, results 
will prov(^ tliat tlie encouragement of these scientifically 
inaccui-ate vagaries of the imagination is neither })ad for 
th(! tree nor tlie man, nor even for science. My thoughts are 
disporting themselves somewhat after tliis maiuiei' to-day, 
while my attention rests musingly on a lovely specimen 
of an A.mli'()tneda arhorea^ known also as OxydeiidrK/m 
arhoreum,, or soi-rel tree. The October sun and air enrich 
and strengthen its tints and outline, and, in more than one 
way, its l)eauty arouses the most palpable feelings of 
pleasure. 

T') most obsei-vers, indeed, it may }>e only a In'ight-leaved 
tree; but to me as I look at it, come still fairer images and 
associations. I i-emember many a morning l)efore this one 
when I have looked with pleasure on this tree. Last sum- 
mer, in July, and August even, I used to enjoy its white- 
tasselled flowers, bending and delicately graceful as those of 
any hot-house plant. 1 insisted then on pointing it out to 
my friends wnth, perhaps, what they felt to l)e the mere 
pride of ownershi[) ; and was wont to declare that here was a 
tree that not only bore lovely flowers, when scarcely another 
tree was so adorned, but that also ])roved good in coloi- and 
attractive in foi'm throughout the season. One of the few 
plants that neither paled its shining gi-een nor lost its firm- 
ness of leaf textui-e from May to October. 



314 MY FRIEND THE ANDROMEDA. 

On these occasions I was apt, on very slight provocation, 
to grow warm in praise of my andromecla. It was every- 
thing that was lovely. The leaves were always shining and 
gracefully curving. Bark and twigs were refined and 
attractive in texture, coloring, and picturesque contour. In 
every way this plant was full of beauty as pleasing as that 
of its August flowers. Several sober, matter-of-fact fiiends 
have, I know, smiled from time to time at my enthusiasm 
on the subject of this andromeda. But what matters that? 
It is only their loss that they are unable to see ^vith my 
eyes ; and, in one sense, my gain. The charms of a flower 
are, to the possessor, rather increased than otherwise by the 
sense that few people have the wit to appreciate them; but 
it is a little selfish, I know, to feel thus, although entirely 
human, and I am trying to make my peace with conscience 
by enlarging on the topic to-day. 

Truly, this brisk October morning, as I am dwelling on 
the lovely crimson color of my favorite, bright with sunlight 
and dew, and adorned with pendant seed vessels, I am dis- 
posed to doubt whether my enthusiasm, in all its fulness, 
has not been after all somewhat crude and unappreciative. 
Notwithstanding its evident excellence, it occurs to me now 
that this plant has beauty that is still greater than com- 
monly appears, because it is so seldom suitably employed. 
It is not, like your oak or beech, sufficient unto itself in its 
isolated grandeur; but it is a tree that needs association to 
develop its highest possibilities of attraction. Like some 
rich beauty, whose loveliness is stimulated and brought out 
by the charms of other forms and faces, to pale again when 
left alone or neglected ; or like the gifted and witty mind 



MV FRIEND THE ANDROMEDA. 315 



that needs the sympathy of kindred s[)irits to put it on its 
mettle, the andromeda silently craves to l)e artistically dis- 
[)osed and grouped with other plants. 

I comprehend this morning, seemingly for the first time, 
that my andromeda, my dear andromeda, is ungainly. A 
crooked, slender stem, though, in a certain way, fine and 
picturesque, supports its graceful mass of foliage in a 
decidedly unsatisfactory way. Surely this plant was not 
made to stand alone. On the contrary, I am inclined to 
think it decidedly affects society. Next spring, therefore, I 
am going to keep it in the conspicuous position it now 
occupies, but, at the same time, make it happy by surrt)und- 
ing it wdth. friends and relatives. A mass of rhododendrons 
shall cluster in its rear, for they show a fine relation to the 
andromeda in both appearance and nature ; and they are, 
moi-eover, rich and noble plants. These rhododendrons, in 
the outline of their grouping, will present deep bays and 
promontories of foliage, with points and flanks and bare 
places, masked with choice low-growing shrubs, like ma- 
honias and evergreen thorns, the bush form of Chinese 
wistarias, and the golden and variegated weigelia. My 
andromeda shall not appear exactly on one of the points of 
these rhododendrons, to which its leaves bear too close 
a relation for intimate grouping ; but it shall be isolated 
and, at the same time, surrounded and connected with the 
mainland of foliage by the mahonias and evergreen thorns. 
The weak parts of the base of my plant will l)e thus 
masked, as so many plants apt to develop naked bases need 
to be masked, and its more excellent qualities brought out 
in finest relief by its association. 



316 MV FRIEND THE ANDROMEDA. 



Several years hence, perhaps, I may be looking at my 
andromeda, in its new position, as I am looking at it now, 
and, I am sure, in that case, it will comport itself with 
greater dignity and grace than it has ever done aforetime. 
Its crimson tints will seem richer when relieved against the 
shining green of the mahonias and rhododendrons ; and its 
naturally taller form will rise with more striking and 
harmonious effect from amid the broad-spreading masses of 
adjacent greenery. And why should I not give fitting 
companions to my fair andromeda ? It is to me of greater 
value than my pictures, and yet I re-hang and re-group my 
pictures with the greatest care. Certainly, sympathy of 
this sort is not wasted on j^lants, which should be treated as 
sensitive children that need to be deeply influenced in the 
best way by sympathetic personal comprehension and care. 




NDEX. 



Abies amabilis, 140 

Cephalonica, 84 

Cilicica, 83 

compacta, 84, 140 

concolor, 84 

Douglasii, 84 

lasiocarpa, 84 

nobilis, 83 

Parsonsii 84, 140 

pectinata pendula, 30 

pichta, 83 
Acalypha, 223, 232 
Acer Colchicum rubrum, 55, 57 • 

dasycarpum, 55 

Japonicum, 58 
aureum, 58 

laetum, 55, 57 

Lorbergii, 57 

macrophyllum, 55 

Peiinsylvanicum, 150 

platanoides Schwerdlerii, 56 

polymorphum, 28, 57, 122, 130 

pseudo-platanus, 55 
Leopoldii, 56 
lutescens, 56 

rubrum, 55, 122 
Achillea, 213 

fillipendulina, 175 

millefolium roseum, 176 

Ptarmica, fl. pi., 176 

tomentosa, 170 
Aconite, winter, 169 
Aconitum autumnale, igi, 214 
Adonis, spring, 160 

vernalis, 160 
^sculus parviflora, loi 



Ajuga reptans alba and rubra, 161 
Akebia, 113 

quinata, 28, 104 
Alder, black, 131 

cut-leaved imperial, 37 

Japanese, 37 
Alders, 28 

American, 37 

European, 37 
Almond, white, double flowering 

51 
Alnus firma, 37 

imperialis laciniata, 37 
Alternanthera, 209, 223, 225, 227 

amaena, 228 

aurea, 228 
nana, 228 

paronychioides, 228 

versicolor, 228 
Althea, gg, 262 
Alyssum saxatile, 160 
Amarantus, 225 

salicifolius, 232 
Amorpha, 100 
Ampelopsis, 131 

tricuspidata, 28, 104, 131, 290 

Veitchii, 131 
Andromeda arborea, 28, 126, 313 

Mariana, loi 
Anemone, 212 

Caroliniana, I5g 

hepatica, 165 

Japonica, 191 

nemorosa, 159 

patens, var. Nuttalliana, 159 

Pulsatilla, 160 

sylvestris, 160 



317 



318 



INDEX. 



Anthemis tinctoria, 176 
Anthericum liliago, 176 

liliastrum, 176 
Aquilegia, 213 

Canadensis, 159 

cterulea, 170 

chrysantha, 170 

vulgaris, 171 
Arabis alpina, 161 
Aralia Japonica, 28, 107 

spinosa, 28 
Arbor vitse, American, 82 
Asiatic, 82 
Chinese golden, 146 
Arbutus, trailing, 212 
Architecture on small lawns, employment 

of, 267 
Arenaria verna, 160, 
Aristolochia sipho, 104 
Armeria maritima, 171 
Arundo, 193 

donax, 242 
variegata, 210 
Asclepias, 176, 214 

tuberosa, 176 
Asperula odorata, 171 
Asphodels, 177 
Asphodelus luteus, 177 
Aster amellus, var. Bessarabicus, 178 

longifolius, var. formosus, igi 

Novse-Anglise, 191, 

ptarmicoides, 178 

Shortii, 191 
Asters, 178, 191 
Astilbe Japonica, 163, 213 
Aubrietia Leichtlinii, 161 
Aubrietias, 161 
Aucubfefolia, 43 
Autumn, 191 
Azalea, American, 49 

amcena, 30, 48 

Ghent, 29, 49 

hardy, 68, 69, 264 

mollis, 49 

B 

Bachelor's button, 174 
Bamboo, 242 



Bamboo, white, 210 
Banana, 223, 234 
Baptisia, australis, 178 
Barrenwort, 162 

Bedding, around Arsenal, Central Park, 
224 

color of, Union Square, 218 

elliptical arrangement of, 225 

existing prejudice against, 217 

grass type of, 227 

methods of preparing plans for, 225 

narrow border of a circular fountain 
basin, etc., 222 

planting of, 236 

pruning or pinching of, 227 

shrub background, 222 
form of. 230 

solid background, 220 

spring, 236 

summer, 236 

time of planting, 236 

tree type of, 235 
Beech, American, iii, 112 

European, iii 

purple, 58, 59, 252 

weeping, 28, iii, 152 
Bell-flower, large, 189 
Berberis, 30, 

aquifolium, 30 

Japonicum, 30 

Thunbergii, 131 
Berberry, purple, 130 
Betula Dahurica, 38 
Biota elegantissima aurea, 146 
Birch, black, 37 

canoe, 37 

cut-leaved, 37 

purple, 252 

purple-leaved, 37 

white, 58, 120, 262 

yellow, 37 
Bitter-sweet, 132 
Blazing-star, 186, 213 
Bleeding-heart, plumy, 172 
Blood-root, 212 
Bluet's, 158 
Bois de Boulogne, 272 
Bowman's root, 182 



INDEX. 



319 



Broom, Scotch, 2g 

Bugle, white- and red-leaved, i6i 

Bulbocodium vernum, 164 

Butter and eggs, or single orange phoenix, 

166 
Butterfly weed, 176 
Buttonwood, American, 92 

C 

Caladium, 243 
Callicarpa purpurea, 131 
Callirrhoe involucrata, 178 
Calycanthus floridus, 72 

Isevigatus, 72 
Campanula Carpatica, 178 

grandiflora, i8g 

rotundifolia, 171 
Campanulas, 178 
Candy-tuft, 213 

corris-leaved perennial, 172 
Canna, 206, 219, 223, 224, 232, 243 

Ehmanni, 233 

Indica, 233 
Cardinal flower, 193, 213 
Cassia Marylandica, 179 
Castor-oil plant, 224, 235 
Catalpa, 62, 107 

Bungeii, 107 

dwarf, 107 

golden, 94 
Cat-tail, 249 
Cedar, Atlas, 29, 282 

of Lebanon, 143 

red, 29 
Cedrus Atlantica, 29 
Celastrus scandens, 132 
Cemetery, Japan-creeper for, 306 

maples, Japanese, for, 306 

park-like arrangement of, 304 

plants for, 304 

roses for, 306 

spruce, conical, for, 305 
Gregory for, 305 

Swiss stone pine for, 305 

Woodlawn, New York, 304 
Centaurea candidissima, 230 
Cerastium Biebersteinii, 161 

tomentosum, 162 



Cercis Japonica, 108 
Chamomile, yellow, 176 
Cherries, double flowering, 42 
Cherry, Japan weeping, 43 

white, double flowering, 43 
Chionanthus Virginica, 62, 94, 107 
Chionodoxa Lucilia;, 169 
Chrysanthemum, 191, 214 

lacustre, 191 

maximum, 191 
Chrysanthemums, Chinese and Japanese, 

19S 
Churchyard, cypress, Japanese, for, 302 

elm, American, for, 299 

Camperdown weeping, for, 300 

fir, Nordmann's, for, 301 

ginkgo, for, 299 

hemlock, weeping, for, 302 

ivy or creeper, Japan, for, 303 

maple, Japanese, for, 302 

oak, pyramidal, for, 301 

silver-fir, weeping, for, 302 

sophora, weeping, for, 300 

spruce, weeping, for, 302 

Taxus baccata, for, 302 

willow, Kilmarnock weeping, for, 302 

yellow-wood, for, 300 

yew, Irish, for, 302 
Cladrastris tinctoria, 120 
Clematis, 28, 76, 205 

apiifolia, 104 

Davidiana, 179 

flammula, 104 

integrifolia, 179 

Jackmanii, 77 

lanuginosa, 77 

patens, 77 

recta, 179 

Virginiana, 104 

white, sweet-scented, 104 
Clethra alnifolia, 2g, 100 
Coffee-tree, Kentucky, 28, 94, I20 
Colchicum autumnale, 199 
Coleus, 206, 219, 223, 231, 232 

golden bedder, 232 

Kirkpatrick, 232 

Verschaffeltii, 232 
Columbine, Canada, 159 



320 



INDEX. 



Columbine, golden, 170 

hardy, 213 

Rocky Mountain, 170 
Columbines, 179 
Colutea, 100 
Compass-plant, ig6 
Cone-flower, large, 195 
Coreopsis, 213 

lanceolata, 191 
Cornus florida, 40, 126 

sanguinea, 150 
alba, 2g 
Corydalis nobilis, 163 
Cotoneaster, buxifolia, 30 

pyracantha, 30, 108 
Cranberry-tree, 29 
Crataegus, 30 

coccinea, 28 

crus-galli, 28, 293 

oxyacantha, 47, 48 

pyracantha, 30, 108 
Creeper, Virginia, 131, 290 
Crocus, 167, 204 

autumn, 199 

Susianus, 168 

versicolor, 168 
Crucianella stylosa, 170 
Cucumber-tree, 64 

yellow, 64 
Currant, Indian, 13 
Cydonia Japonica, 39 
Cyperus papyrus, 289 
Cypress, Chinese, 102 
Cypress, obtuse-leaved, Japanese, 151 

Southern, 102 

vine, 205 



D 



Daffodils, 165, 166, 167 
Dahlias, single and double, 199 
Daisies, Michfelmas, igi 
Daisy, Giant, 195 

turfing, 212 
Daphne Cneorum, 113 

Genkwa, 29, 41 
Daphne Japanese, 41 

Mezereum, 41 



Delphinium formosum, 180 

grandiflorum, 180 

elatum, 180, 204 
Delphiniums, 179 
Deutzia crenata, 72 
fl. pi., 72 

Fortunei, 72 

gracilis, 48, 72 

scabra, 72 
fl. pL, 72 
Dianthus barbatus, 172 

deltoides, 171 

plumarius, 172 
Dicentra eximia, 172 

spectabilis, 164, 172 
Dictamnus fraxinella, 180 
Dielytra spectabilis, 164 
Diervilla, or weigelia, 74 
Digitalis purpurea, 181 
Dogwood, 100, 290 

red-stemmed, 29, 130, 150, 289 

white flowering, 40, 126 
Dracocephalum Ruyschianum, 181 
Dragon's head, hyssop-leaved, 181 
Drainage, 4 
Dropwort, 190 
Dutchman's Pipe, 28, 104 



Echeveria metallica, 228 

secunda glauca, 228 
Echeverias, 209, 219, 22S 
Elreagnus hortensis, 29, 113, 128 

longipes, 29, 113 
Elephant ear, 235, 243 
Elm, American, 152, 293 

cork-barked, 152 

weeping, 152 
Emphasis, parts for, 218 

sky line, construction of, 244 
Epimedium, 162 

macranthum, 163 
Eranthis hyemalis, 169 
Erianthus RavenuDe, 210 
Erica herbacea carnea, 157 
Eryngium alpinum, iSl 
Eulalia Japonica, 243 



INDEX, 



321 



Eulalia Japonica, variegata, 210 

zebrina, 210 
Euonymus alatus, 29 

European, 131 

latifolius, 130 
Euphorbia corollata, 181 
Exochorda grandiflora, 73 



Fagus ferruginea, 112 

sylvatica pendula, no 
Fences on small places, treatment of, 260 
Festuca glauca, 210 
Fever few, or golden feather, 228 
Fir, Cephalonian, 84 

compact silver, 84 

dwarf silver, 140 

Grecian silver, 83 

Hudson Bay, 84 

lovely silver, 140 

noble silver, 83, 140 

Nordmann's silver, 83, 140 

Parson's silver, 140 

Siberian silver, 83 

silver, 140 

silver, weeping, 30 
Flax, perennial, 173 
Forget-me-not, creeping, 212 
Forsythia Fortunii, 39 

suspensa, 29, 39 

viridissima, 29, 38 
Fothergilla, alnifolia, 29 
Fountain-basins, water-lilies suited to, 

250 
Foxglove, common, i8r 

purple, 213 
Fraxinus concav^folia, 94 
Fringe, white, 94 
Funkia ovata, 182 

subcordata, 182 

G 

Gaillardia grandiflora, 182 
Galanthus Elwesii, 169 

nivalis, 169 
Garden, arrang"ement of, 202 



Gas-plant, 180 
Gay-feather, Kansas, 186 
Genista scoparia, 29 

tinctoria, 29 
Gentiana acaulis, 162, 213 

Andrewsii, 192 
Gentian, 213 

closed, ig2 

stemless, 162, 213 
Geranium, 217, 219, 223, 225, 232 

blood-red, 182 

General Grant, 230 

horseshoe, 230 

sanguineum, 182 

silver-leaved, 230 

Mountain of Snow, 231 
Gillenia trifoliata, 182 
Ginkgo, Japan, 120, 152 

tree, 29 
Globe, European, 175 
Glory of the snow, 169 

of the spruces, 80 
Glyptostrobus sinensis, 102 
Gnaphalium, 209 
Golden bell, 38 

weeping, 39 
Golden-rod, ig6, 214 
Golden tuft, 160 
Grading, semi-artificial, 20 

the lawn, 6, 7 

wholly artificial, 18 
Grandmother's garden, 201 
Grape-vine, 205 

Grass seed, difficulty in securing pure, 3, 10 
for lawns, varieties of, 11, 12 
planting for lawns, 3, 11 
Groundsel, 195 
Grounds, sloping, 18, 20 
Gynerium argenteum, 210 
Gypsophila paniculata, 183 



H 



Harebell, 171, 178, 213 

Carpathian, 178 
Hawthorn, Paul's red double-flowering 
48 

European, or English, 47 



322 



INDEX. 



Hazel, purple, 6o 
Heart, bleeding, 164 
Heath, winter, 157 
Helenium Hoopesii, 183 
Helianthus Maximiliana, 192 

orgyalis, 192 
Helleborus niger, 197 

altifohus, 198 
Hemerocallis Thunbergii, 192 
Hemlock, 80, 282 

weeping, 29 
Hepatica triloba, 165, 212 
Herbaceous plants, arrangement of, 200 
Hercules' club, 28 
Hibiscus Californicus, 193 

Moscheutos, 192 

Syriacus, 99, 262 
Hollyhock, 183, 204 
Honey-locust, 28, 293 
Honeysuckle, 28 

Belgian striped monthly, 76 

bush, 72 

Canadian, 76 

evergreen, 113 

Hall's evergreen, 76 

Tartarian bush, 72 
Hornbeam, American, 28 
Horse-chestnut, 61, loi 

dwarf flowering, loi 

red-flowering, 61 
Hoopesii, 183 
House on small place, position of, 260, 

264 
Houstonia ccerulea, 158 
Hyacinths, 168 
Hyacinthus orientalis, 168 
Hydrangea, 264 

Japan climbing, 77 

paniculata grandiflora, 99 
Hypericum, 99 

I 

Iberis, 213 

corrasfolia, 172 
Ilex verticillata, 131 
Indigo, blue false, 178 
Iris, Chalcedonian, 169 

crested dwarf, 164 



Iris, cristata, 164 

Florentine, 173 

German, 184 

Germanica, 184 

golden-netted, 169 

Iberica, 169 

Japan, 214 

Kaempferi, 184 

pumila, 164 

reticulata, 169 

Siberian, 173 

Siberica, var. ha;matophylla, 173 

verna, 164 
Itea Virginica, 29 
Ivy, Japanese, 28 

J 

Jasmine, yellow, 34, 38 
Jasminum nudiflorum, 29, 34, 38 
Jonquil, fragrant or campernelle, i66 
Judas-tree, Japan, 108 
Juniper, bluish-tinted, 146 

common Canadian, 82 

creeping, 30, 282 

Irish, 82 

savin, 30 

Swedish, 82 

weeping, 82 
Juniperus Canadensis, 82 

oblonga pendula, 82 

prostrata, 29 

Sabina, 30 

squamata, 29 

tamariscifolia, 30 

venusta, 82 

Virginiana glauca, 29, 82 

K 

Kalmia lati folia, 30, 70 
Kerria Japonica, 29, 74 
Kniphofia alceoides, 210 
Kojlreuteria, 59 



Laburnum, common, 63 
Scotch, 63 



1 



I 



INDEX, 



323 



Landscape gardening, geometric style of, 

261 
Larch, 29 
Japan, 38 

weeping, 2g, 38, 152 
Larix Europaja glauca, 38 

leptolepsis, 38 
Larkspur, 179, 204 
beautiful, 180 
large-flowered, 180 
■tall, 180 
Lathyrus latifolius, 193 
Laurel, broad-leaved, 30 
Lavender, sea, 174 

Lawn after sowing grass-seed, mainte- 
nance of, 13, 14 
arrangement of Washington Irving's,205 
exhibition of individual plants on, 250 
plantations, arrangement of, 6 
planting at small places, 258 
railway, creeping juniper for, 297 
moneywort for, 297 
mugho pine for, 297 
periwinkle for, 297 
plans for, 297 
plants suited for, 297 
retinospora for, 297 
rhododendron for, 297 
stone pine for, 297 
treatment of, 296 
Virginia creeper for, 297 
thorough preparation of, 23S 
Lawns, cultivation of, 5 
grading of surface of, 263 
small, approach to house on, 265 
cost of plants for, 269 
location of trees on, 264 
treatment of, 265 
vegetable garden on, 265 
vistas on, 261 
Ledebourii, 72 
Leek, cobweb house, 197 

common house, 197 
Liatris, 186, 213 
pycnostachya, 186 
spicata, 186 
Lilac, 50 
Chinese, 51 



Lilac, common, 51 

Persian, 51 
Lilies, water, nymph;x;as, 248 
Lilium auratum, 185 

Batemannise, 185 

Canadense, 185 

pardalinum, 185 

pompon ium, 169 

Pyrenaicum, 186 

speciosum, 185 

superbum, 185 

tigrinum, 185 
splendens, 185 
Lily, blue plantain, 1S3 

day, 183, 192, 213 

hardy white, 253 

leopard, 185 
Lily-pond, cost of plants for, 246 

importance of open spaces of, 246 

in Centra] Park, construction of, 251 

instructions for making, 242 

natural effect of, 249 

right way to make a, 241 

wrong way to make a, 239 
Lily, Saint Bernard's, 176 

small white, 253 

tiger, 185 

Turk's cap, 185 

Cape Cod water, 253 

water, in the pool, Central Park, 253 
in Union Square, appearance of, 252 

white plantain, 183 

yellow turban, 186 

Zanzibar water, 253 
Linden, American, 293 

golden-barked, no, 150 

red-twigged, 150 
Linum perenne, 173 
Liquid ambar styraciflua, 95, 124 
Liriodendron tulipifera, 63 
Live forever, 195, 212 
Liver leaf, 165, 212 
Lobelia cardinalis, 193 
Lonicera Canadensis, 76 

flexuosa, 72 

fragrantissima, 29, 72, 290 

Halleana, 76 

sempervirens, 104 



324 



INDEX. 



Lonicera, sinensis, 104 

Tartarica, 72 

xylosteum, 72 
Loosestrife, purple, 186 
Lotus, 246, 252 

best soil for, 246 

leaves, appearance of, 247 

yellow, 248 
Lychnis Chalcedonica, 186 

scarlet, 186 
Lycium barbarum, 2g, 75, gg 
Lythrum Salicaria, 186 

viscaria splendens 187 

M 

Magnolia acuminata, 64 

Asiatic, hardiness of, 46 

broad-leaved, 65, g6 

Chinese, 44, 46 

conspicua, 44 

cordata, 64 

dark purple Japanese, 46 

glauca, 65, 67 
longifolia, 65 

gracilis, 46 

Halleana, 46 

hypoleuca, 66, 67 

Kobus, 66 

Lennei, 44, 46 

macrophylla, 46, 65, 95 

Norbetiana, 44 

parviflora, 66, 67 

purpurea, 46 

slender, 46 

Soulangeana, 44 

stellata, 44, 46 

swamp, 65 

sweet-scented, 65 

Thompsoniana, 65 

tripetala, 66 

umbrella, 66 

Watsonii, 66 

white swamp, 65 
Mahonia, 30, 113, 131, 146 

aquifolium, 30 
Mallow, crimson, 178 

garden, ig4 



Mallow, marsh rose, ig2 
Maltese cross, 186 
Malus aucubosfolia, 43 

coronaria odorata, 43 

Halleana, 43 

spectabilis, 43 
Malva Alcea, ig4 

moschata alba, ig4 
Manures for the lawn, 8 
Maple, ash-leaved, 55 

broad-leaved, 55 

English field, 55 

Japanese, 28, 55, 57, 122, 130, 264 

Norway, 55, 61, iig, 2g3 

Schwerdler's purple-leaved, 56 

scarlet, 55 

silver, 55 

striped, 55, 150 

sugar, 55, 122, 2g3 

swamp, 122 

sycamore, 55 
Leopold's, 56 
silver-leaved, 56 
Meadow-rue, 174 
Meadow-saffron, igg 
Meadow-sweet, igo 
Menispermum Canadense, 104 
Milfoils, 175 

Milkweed (Asclepias), 214 
Mock orange, 71 
Monarda didyma, 187 
Moneywort, 212 
Monk's-hood, I7g 

autumn, igi, 214 
Morning-glory, 205 
Mountain everlasting, 212 
Mouse ear, 161 
Munstead giant, 171 
Musa ensete, 234, 235 
Myrica cerifera, 2g 



N 



1 



Narcissus, 165 
bicolor, 166 
incomparabilis, 166 
maximus, 166 
odorus, 166 



INDEX, 



325 



Narcissus, poeticus, 166 

pseudo-narcissus, 166 
Nasturtium, 228, 229 
Nelumbium or lotus, 246 

speciosum, 246, 252 
Noble fumitory, 163 
Nookeries on the home grounds, 307 

akebia for, 310 

ampelopsis quinquefolia for, 310 

ampelopsis tricuspidata, or Veitchii, 
for, 309 

arrangement of, 308 

clematis apiifolia for, 310 
flammula for, 310 

Dutchman's pipe for, 310 

Japan ivy for, 309 

lonicera sempervirens for, 309 

Periploca Graeca for, 310 

Tecoma grandiflora for, 309 
radicans, 309 

trumpet-creeper for, 309 

trumpet-vine or honeysuckle for. 309 

Virginia creeper for, 310 

Virginia silk, 310 

wistaria, 310 
NymphiBa alba candidissima, 253 

Devoniensis, 253 

pygnijea, 253 

Zanzibarensis azurea, 253 
rosea, 253 

O 

Oak, chestnut, 96 

English, 97, 123 

golden, 97, 123 

over cup, 152 

pin, 96, 112 

pyramidal, 29, 97, 112, 120, 123, 152, 
301 

red, 96 

scarlet, 96 

Turkey, 123 

weeping, 97 

white, 96 

willow, 96 

willow-leaved, 112 
CEnothera Missouriensis, 187 
Oleaster, garden, 128 



Opuntia Rafinesquii, 187 

Orris-root, 173 

Oxydendrum arboreum, 126, 313 



Pseonia officinalis, 173 

tenuifolia, fl. pi., 173 
Pampas grass, 210, 243 
Pansies, 236 
Pansy, bird's foot, 158 
Papaver bracteatum, 188 

nudicaule, var. croceum, 188 
orientale, 188 
Pare du Chaumont, 273 
Park, Central, acres in, number of, 291 
beginning of, date of, 273 
bridle path of, arrangement of, 290 
competitive plans for, 273 
forest glade of, 284 
gorge with rhododendrons, 288 
green, 72d St. and 5th Ave., arrange- 
ment of, 277 
Harlem Meer, neighborhood of, 288 
highlands of, 28 

lawn, children's and nurses', arrange- 
ment of, 277 
lower meadow, arrangement of, 277 
mall, arrangement of, 276 
miles of paths and roads in, 291 
north meadow of, 2S4, 290 
pin-oaks of, 284, 2go 
play-grounds of, 291 
pond near 72d St., 289 
ramble, arrangement of, 280 
roads, transverse, of, 284 
rock, overhanging, in, 286 
selection of site of, 272, 273 
terrace, 276 

the lake, arrangement of, 280 
Hyde, lack of variety in, 272 
Phoenix (Dublin), 272 
small, architectural adornments on, 293 
Canal St., New York, care and size 

of, 294 
city squares resembling, 292 
fences for, 292 
fountain basins for, 293 
plants for, 293 



326 



INDEX. 



Pasque flower, European, i6o 
Pea, everlasting, 193 
Peach, double flowering, 43 
Pear, Western prickly, 187 
Pennsylvania catchfly, 163 
Pentstemon, 213 

barbatus, var. Torreyi, 189 

cobrea, i8g 
Peonies, herbaceous, 173, 204 
Pepper-bush, sweet, too 
Pergola, wistarias on, 289 
Periwinkle, 212 
Persimmon, American, 108 

Japanese, 108 
Petalostemon decumbens, 189 
Pheasant's eye, 166 
Philadelphus, 71, 289, 293 

coronarius, 72 

dwarf golden, 72 

grandiflorus, 72 

laxus, 72 

speciosus, 72 
Phlox amcena, 159 

annual, 174 

Carolina, 174 

dwarf, 159, 160 

garden, 194, 204, 213 

maculata, 194 

nivalis, 159 

paniculata, 194 

starry, 174 

stellaria, 174 

subulata, 159 

white, 159 
Picea alba, 80 

excelsa elata, 29 
Gregoriana, 80 
inverta, 29 

Orientalis, 141 

polita, 81, 142 

pungens, 85, 142 
Pine, Austrian, 144 

Bhotan, 82, 144, 145, 282 

dwarf Scotch, 82, 144 

dwarf white, 144 

golden Japanese, 145 

Japan parasol, 30, 145 

mugho, 30, 83, 144 



Pine, stone, 282 

sun-ray, 145 

Swiss stone, 144 
Pink, cushion, 172 

fire, 174 

garden, 172, 203, 213 

maiden's, 171, 172 

moss, 159 

wild, 163 
Pinus cembra, 30, 144, 2S2 

excelsa, 82, 144, 145, 282 

Massoniana variegata, 145 

mughus, 144 
compacta, 144 
uncinata, 144 

strobus compacta, 143 
Pitcher-plant, 249 
Plane-tree, Oriental, 92, 293 
Platycodon grandiflorum, 189 
Plumbago Larpentse, 195 
Plum, double flowering, 43 
Poet's narcissus, 166 
Point of view on small places, importance 

of, 263 
Poker, red-hot, 193 
Pond-lilies, habit of, 246 
Pontederia crassipes, 249 
Poplar, 98, 

aspen, 38 

balsam, 98 

Lombardy, 29, 244, 248 
health of, 244 

tulip, 122 
Poppies, hardy herbaceous, 188 
Poppy, great scarlet, 188 

Iceland, 188 

water, 249 
Populus tremuloides, 38 
Portulaca vine, 204 
Primrose, English, 163 

evening, 187, 194 
Primula vulgaris, 163 
Prinos verticillata, 29 
Privet, 113, 290, 293 

Californian, 210, 214 
Pruning vines on rocks, 26 
Prunus cerasus, fl. pi., 42 
Pseudotsuga Douglasii, 84 



INDEX. 



327 



Pyrethrum, 209, 223, 225, 228 

aureum, 2 28 

uliginosum, 195 
Pyriis Japonica, 39 

Q 

Quercus concordia, 123 
Daimio, 112 
palustris, 96, 
phellos, 96, 112 

robiir pedunculata Concordia, 97 
var. pedunculata, 97 
Quince, Japan, 39 

large-flowered, 40 

R 

Ranunculus speciosus, fl. pi., 174 
Raspberry, purple-flowering, 188 
Red-hot poker, 210 
Retinospora obtusa, 30 
Retinosporas, 146, 2S2 

golden, 146 
Rhododendron, 30, 68, 69, 113, 146, 206 

Catawbiense, 35 

Dauricum, 35 
Rhodora Canadensis, 40 
Rhodotypus kerrioides, 29 
Rhus cotinus, 68 

glabra laciniata, 29, 129 

Osbecki, 124, 129, 130 
Ribbon-grass, variegated, 210 
Rock-cress, 212 

Alpine, 161 
Rocks on sloping ground, arrangement of, 

26 
Rock tunica, 175 
Rockwork, planting vines in, 28 

right way to make, 15, 29 

semi-artificial, example of, 22 

tree- and shrub-planting in, 28 

wholly artificial, illustrations of, 18 

wrong way to make, 30 
Rosa rugosa, 80, 289 
Rose, Baltimore Belle, 

Baronne Prevost, 78 

Christmas, 197, 214 

climbing, 78 



Rose, damask, 203 
, General Jacqueminot, 78 

hardy, 78 

Japan Ramanas, 81 

Mme. Plantier, 78 

Queen of the Prairies, 78, 190 
Rubus odoratus, 188 
Rudbeckia maxima, 195 



S 



Sage, meadow, 189 
Salisburia adiantifolia, 29, 299 
Salix caprea, 37 

laurifolia, 98, 109 

pentandra, 98, 109 

regalis, 37 

rosemarinifolia, 29 
Salvia pratensis, 189 

splendens, 233 
Sambucus nigraaurea, 29 
Sandwort, 212 

spring, 160 
Sanguinaria Canadensis, 212 
Saxifraga cordifolia, 158 

heart-leaved, 158 
Scabiosa Caucasica, 189 
Sciadopitys verticillata, 30, 145 
Sea pink, 171 
Sedum, 195, 212 

acre, 195 

Fabaria, 195 

Sieboldii, 195 

spectabile, 195 
Sempervivum, 197 

arachnoideum, 197 

calcareum, 197 
Senecio Japonica, 195, 196 
Senna, American, 179 

bladder, 100 
Shrubs, small dwarf, 264 
Silene Pennsylvanica, 163 

Virginica, 174 
Silphium laciniatum, ig6 
Sky-line for trees and shrubs, 260, 262 

variety of, 260 
Small places, arrangement of walks and 
roads on, 259, 266 



328 



INDEX. 



Small places, borders on walks of, treat- 
ment of, 262 
boundary lines on, treatment of, 261 
foliage on, evergreen and deciduous, 

262 
grouping of trees and shrubs on, 260 
house on, position of, 260, 264 
Sneezewort, 176 
Snowball, 75, 131, 293 

Japanese, 75, 289 
Snowberry, 131 
Snowdrop, 169, 204 
Solanum, 224, 235 
Solidago, ig6, 214 
Canadensis, 197 
rigida, 197 
Shortii, 197 
Sophora, weeping, 152 
Sorrel tree, 99, 126 

autumn appearance of, 314 

bark of, 314 

bush form of, 315 

flowers of, 314 

rhododendrons in connection with, 

315 
Speedwell, igo 

gentian-leaved, 190 
Spireea, 290 

Billardii, 102 

bullata, 109 

callosa, 29 

callosa alba, 29, 102 

crispifolia, 109 

Douglasii, 102 

Fortunei, 71 

Japonica, 163 

lobata, 190 

opulifolia, 252, 289, 293 
aurea, 71 

pentandra, 109 

prunifolia, 71, 109, 129 

Reevesiana, 29, 71 

salicifolia, 102 

Thunbergii, 129, 289 

tomentosa, 102 

triloljata, 71 

ulmaria, 190 

venusta, igo 



Spruce, Alcock's, 142 

Colorado, 142 

Gregory's, 142 

Gregory's dwarf, 80, 142 

Norway, 142, 144 

Norway weeping, 29 

Oriental, 142 

tiger-tail, 81 

weeping, 142 

white, So 
Spurge, flowering, 181 
Staggerbush, loi 
Starworts, igi 

Russian, 178 
Statice latifolia, 174 
Statues on small place, use of, 261 
Stipa pennata, 210 
Stokesia cyanea, 197 
Stone-crop, common, ig5 
Stuartia pentagynia, gg 
Sumac, I2g 

Chinese, 124, 130 

cut-leaved, I2g 
Summer-house, location of, 266 
Sunflower, ig2, 214 

graceful, ig2 
Surprise, element of, 266 
Symphoricarpus racemosus, 29, 131 

vulgaris, 29, 131 
Syringa, 50 

Chinese, 51 

Persian, 51 

vulgaris, 51 
Swallow-wort, 176 
Sweet gum, 95 

pea, 204 

-scented shrub, 72 

-William, 204 

T 

Tamarix Africana, 29, 74 

Gallica, 74 

Indica, 29, 74, 99, 262 
Taxodium, 102 
Taxus baccata, 85 

baccata elegantissima, 85 
Tecoma grandiflora, 105 

radicans, 28, 105 



INDEX. 



ai>9 



Thalictrum speciosum, 174 
Thorn, American, 293 
box, 99 

cock-spur, 28 

evergreen, 108, 126, 148, 2S2 
Thrift, 171 
Tilia dasystyla, no 

sulphurea, no 
Tradescantia Virginica, 175 
Tritoma or Kniphofia, 193 

Uvaria grandiflora, 210 
Trollius Europanis, 175 
rrumpet creeper, 28, 105 
Tulip, 236 

Artus, 237 

Due Van Tholl, 237 

La Belle Alliance, 237 

tree, 63, 95 
Tunica saxifraga, 175 
Turf, importance of open spaces of, 273 
Turtle head, 214 



U 



Ulmus parvifolia, 109 

\' 

Vegetable garden on small lawns, 265 
Vernonia Noveboracensis, 197 
Veronica amethj'stina, 190 

gentianoides, 190 

longifolia, 190 

subsessilis, 190 
Viburnum, 74, 

lantana, 131 

opulus, 2g, 75 

plicatum, 75 
Vinca rosea, 233 
Viola cornuta, 175 

pedata, var. liicolor, 15S 



Violet, 158 

bird's foot, 158 

horned, 175 
Virginia creeper, 26, 28 

silk, 28, 113 
Virgin's bower, upriglit, 179 

W 

Wahlenbergia grandiflora, 189 
Walnut, black, 92 
Weed, New York iron, 197 
Weigelia Lavallei, 103 

rosea, 74 
Weigelia, 74, 102, 290, 293, 315 

dwarf variegated, 103 
White fringe, 62, 107 
Willow, 98 

drooping, 245 

goat, 37 

golden, 130, 150 

laurel-leaved, 98, log, 126 

rosemary-leaved, 29 

royal, 37 

weeping, 128 
Wind-flower, Japan, 213 

snowdrop, 160 
Wistaria, 28, 77, 205 

Sinensis, 77 
Woodruff, 171 



Yarrow, downy, 170 

Egyptian, 175 
Yellow-wood, 120 
Yew, golden, 85 

Irish, 85, 150 

silver-tinted, 85 
^'ucca filimentosa, 29, 190 

recurva, 29 



X291 



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